Creating remarkable, inclusive play spaces for everyone in your community
When you envision a playground in use, what do you see?
Is it a group of children frolicking while climbing on equipment, or is it a more complex scene, with kids high in the air on swings, a parent pushing a stroller nearby, a family sitting quietly on a bench to peacefully soak up the sunlight, and perhaps even a grandparent rushing down a slide with a grandchild?
If you don’t see something like the second scenario, you may not be thinking inclusively.
True inclusion means ensuring every family and community member, regardless of age or ability, is part of that picturesque setting. It means building play environments that go beyond Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements to foster play, meaningful interaction, and belonging for everyone who visits the space. ADA compliance, while critical, should be merely a starting point. It ensures users can reach a play structure. Thoughtful, inclusive design ensures they can actively engage once there.
Inclusive playgrounds are not only for children with disabilities; they are vibrant, shared spaces, designed for everybody. The design intent is to create an environment where no one feels left out—whether that’s a parent or grandparent who uses a mobility device (permanently or temporarily), an older sibling looking for a challenge, or a child who needs a quiet space to regroup.
Playgrounds For Every Body And Every Age
An inclusive playground is an intergenerational gathering place for the whole community.
Accessible swings, inclusive seating, and adult-friendly amenities like shade, water bottle-filling stations, and restrooms with adult-sized, universal changing tables make playgrounds welcoming to all families. Trees or poles designed for "hammocking" provide teenagers a place to relax, read, and socialize.
Also, think beyond the playground footprint. Shaded picnic areas, dog parks, accessible paths from parking lots, and basketball hoops at different heights allow parents, grandparents, and older siblings to play. Unique playground equipment, such as electronic games that combine technology with physical activity or multi-user swings, are excellent examples of how parks can create experiences that transcend age and ability.
The playground should feature high-quality, open-ended, multi-purpose equipment. And vitally, quality should supersede quantity.
8 Keys To Inclusion
Eight elements of inclusive play design are most impactful, helping unlock barriers for people of all abilities to engage with one another through play. Keep these in mind when it’s time to revamp your play space:
1. Sensory-Rich
Work to incorporate those that engage the auditory, tactile, proprioceptive, visual, and vestibular sensory systems. Sensory play incorporates but is not limited to tactical, auditory, and visual features. It is also an excellent way to engage children who are most inspired by music, sound, and percussion. Music can be centralized to allow for a social jam session or spread throughout a park to introduce social elements that are incredibly approachable for all.
2. The “Coolest Thing”
Identify the piece of equipment that children will be most excited about. Make sure this activity is usable by everyone. A great mantra to repeat while designing is “this playground’s coolest activity is also its most inclusive.”
3. Fence
Fencing is a critical but often overlooked feature of truly inclusive playground design. Though some people resist fencing, it serves an important, universal purpose. For families with children on the autism spectrum, a fenced playground can be the deciding factor in whether to attempt a visit; without it, fear of elopement—when a child suddenly bolts—can keep them away entirely. Research shows nearly half of children with autism attempt to wander from a safe environment, often leading to dangerous situations.
The benefits of fencing go beyond safety for children with disabilities. For parents or grandparents managing multiple children, a fenced play area allows for easier supervision and gives kids a sense of independence within safe boundaries. Instead of hovering anxiously, caregivers can relax and allow children to explore and engage more freely. A well-designed, appropriately placed fence is not about restricting freedom but rather creating the conditions for greater freedom through thoughtful, intergenerational design.
4. Zones
Invite engagement among children of different abilities by situating similar activities close to one another. Grouping similar types of play equipment with varying levels of challenge encourages children of different abilities to be near each other. This increases the chances kids will become familiar with one another, leading to understanding, acceptance, and empathy.
While occupied, playgrounds can be loud spaces filled with tons of activity. When designing zones for an inclusive playground, also consider incorporating quiet spaces for those who need a break from the bustle. Some children will gravitate to a cozy space where they can escape when overstimulated. Look for equipment that allows for intergenerational play, while still allowing an individual child to feel safe and enclosed in the space when necessary.
Grouping similar types of equipment, but with varying levels of challenge, encourages side-by-side play. Placement of features like sensory elements, swings, and imaginative play zones close to each other fosters interaction across ability levels.
5. Social Play
Provide play elements that stimulate imagination as well as cooperative and parallel play. While some children are capable of playing with their peers without prompting, others need assistance. The design of a playground is an important role in facilitating a social learning environment for everyone.
6. Multiple Levels Of Challenge
Choose equipment with a wide variety of challenge levels to provide appropriate involvement for everyone. We all prefer to be challenged at our level, not at a level someone else has decided is appropriate for us. Offering opportunities to advance and grow provides children with the decision of when to attempt the next level.
7. Routes And Maneuverability
Routes through a play space should be wide enough for people in wheelchairs and other mobility devices to pass one another, and to enter, turn, and exit without difficulty. Wayfinding, the way in which families orient themselves around a space, is an important element of a thoughtful, inclusive design.
8. Unitary Surfacing
Inclusive design starts from the ground up. Surfacing can be divided into two groups: loose and unitary. Unitary surfacing, like poured-in-place (PIP) rubber, allows people in wheelchairs and other mobility devices, either permanently or temporarily, to get to play activities easily. Otherwise, they spend most of their energy simply navigating a space, leaving them unable to enjoy the equipment or truly engage. Unitary surfacing is also a key element of an intergenerational play space, allowing all family members easy access to a space.
More than purely functional, unitary surfaces offer creative opportunities: designers can embed colorful shapes, paths, and games directly into the surfacing, sparking imaginative play and further encouraging social interaction.
Resources For Communities
Inclusive design can feel overwhelming for communities and park planners, but it needn’t be. For example, Playworld’s Inclusive Play Design Guide is a free, research-driven resource to support the creation of truly inclusive spaces.
The Design Guide offers practical tips, design strategies, and checklists to ensure park planners consider everything from surfacing to sightlines to social play opportunities. It’s a valuable tool for landscape architects, municipal planners, park and recreation directors, and anyone committed to creating a play space that welcomes all. When it comes to inclusion, every touchpoint matters.
Inclusive Playgrounds As Destinations
When designed right, an inclusive playground becomes more than a local amenity; it becomes an intergenerational play destination, drawing families from near and far to experience the joy of playing together.
One powerful example of such a design is Julia’s Junction, a public park in West Kelowna, British Columbia. Driven by a family’s vision of true inclusion, the intergenerational play space features sensory-rich play opportunities, accessible ground-level structures, poured-in-place surfacing, accessible restrooms, a fully fenced perimeter, and easy parking access. The playground stands as a testament to the idea that when inclusion is prioritized from the start, it results in a play space capable of welcoming and celebrating everyone.
Is your next playground going to be an anchor of community connection, or perhaps even a destination-level experience for all?
Close your eyes and, once again, envision a playground in use. Now, what do you see?
