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What's New in Play Design?
Play Study Tour - Book Now! last few places available

Friday 10 July 2009
Waterlow Park; Highgate New Town; Frampton Park Estate; Liminal Spaces, Mile End Park; Pennyfields Open Space and Poplar Recreation Ground

A unique opportunity to visit newly designed play spaces in Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, three play pathfinder local authorities. Learn how new approaches to play design have been implemented in practice in contrasting places. Meeting and discussion with those involved in design of the new play spaces and authors of the Design for Play guidance.

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Design for Play: a guide to creating successful play spaces

An online presentation based on the forthcoming Play England guide, Design for Play: a guide to creating successful play spaces is now available on the Free Play Network website or as a pdf file on the Play England website.

Design for Play includes 10 design principles which are at the core of a fresh, design-led approach to commissioning, and which are encapsulted in one 'golden rule':

'A successful play space is a place in its own right, specially designed for its location. Designers should take a holistic perspective on designing for play. Play opportunities should be embedded in the site as a whole.'

www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/designforplay

No Risk, No Play?

Online Discussion Forum Highlights
It's worth remembering why attitudes to, and understandings about, risk matter. There is a danger that discussions about risk become focused on, and are reduced to, the merely technical. But how we think about and respond to risk in part defines what it is we think it is to be human.

http://www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/playlink/risk.

Places for Play Discussion Forum, conclusions

The second in a series of PLAYLINK and Free Play Network online discussion fora is now closed. Linked with the Places of Woe: Places of Possibility exhibition, the forum explored ideas and practice involved in creating best possible places for play. Read our concluding remarks.

http://www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/playlink/placesforplay

Places of Woe: Places of Possibility, Online Photo Exhibition

PLAYLINK and the Free Play Network have launched a new addition to their free, online photo exhibition, PLACES for PLAY. Places of Woe: Places of Possibility shows just how bad play provision can be - and how good.

http://www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/playlink/
exhibition/woepossibility

PLACES for PLAY publication, Buy online

Too often poor design robs children of vital opportunities to learn and be healthy and wastes public money. PLACES for PLAY is intended to inspire a more imaginative approach to the creation of play spaces and public space, one founded on understanding the needs and wishes of children.

More information about PLACES for PLAY >>