Design Guidelines for Outdoor Children-Friendly Play Spaces

In the urban setting, children face several problems that prevent them from having a normal childhood, such as excessive traffic congestion, rapid urbanization and lack of open spaces. Recently, child-friendly urban design has been receiving a significant attention because of its exceptional benefits which include realizing children’s demands and preferences. Creating secure, children-friendly play spaces contributes to preventing children from crimes and traffic injuries while at the same time promoting their creativity and enhancing their communication abilities. This paper discusses the topic of child-friendly play spaces which have a major positive impact on children’s quality of life, health and growth. For this purpose, the study follows a theoretical approach through understanding childhood and play concept. It highlights the importance of creating outdoor play spaces for children. Also, the study presents the main characteristics and design principles of children-friendly play spaces. This is followed by an analysis of related examples. The expected outcomes of this study is to introduce an adapted design paradigm for safe children-friendly play spaces. The study aims to create outdoor urban spaces with children’s needs in mind and fulfill their rights in a comprehensive manner which can lead to sustainable communities.