Nature in the Cities: Places for Play and Learning

Abstract

The natural environment has been a site to play for many children. However, the children’s physical play environments and facilities for play are changing, and opportunities for free play in stimulating environment are declining. Previous studies have shown the value of natural environment for children’s development in different ways: developing motor skills, more harmonious and imaginative play, improving quality of playing and perception of landscapes. This chapter introduces how natural outdoor environments affect children’s play activities and development. Children perceive environments as functions: functions to move, functions to build, functions to hide, to play, etc. Hence, physical environments afford such challenges to children in different ways, and the more diverse, the more challenging. Children interpret landscapes as functions to play and they operationalize the affordances as an awareness of the environments and their functional meaning into action. Natural features are important qualities of play environments, and they allow a wide range of learning opportunities not available from other playground options. Therefore, natural environments afford many opportunities for free play and physical activity for children. Thus creating green playgrounds in urban areas is important for children’s physical, explorative, and imaginative play and should be of high priority for future cities. Green playgrounds must be considered as an essential quality of cities and urban planning should provide public open spaces capable to perform ecosystem services as functions for children.