Abstract
In this paper we will analyze the sudden growth of nature playgrounds at the beginning of the twenty-first century within both big cities and smaller towns in the Netherlands. We try to understand this new interest in nature-like play in the context of three developments. First are the stricter regulations on play equipment. The implementation of the new European safety demands in 1997 evoked a lot of extra costs for municipalities and NGOs who tried to find ways to avoid the regulations. Nature playgrounds were defined as nature in the first place, and as such they didn’t have to apply to the strict safety rules. Thus, nature playgrounds became relative cheap solutions for children’s play. Second is the increase of the self-organizing middle-class professionals. In many neighborhoods, young parents weren’t satisfied with the play possibilities for their children, and in their position of both professional and parent, they started to build green playgrounds as an alternative. Third, the choice for greener ways of playing is related to “new” notions of bringing children closer to nature and teaching them how to take risks. Play in a regulated natural environment would facilitate children best. Empirical examples are drawn from interviews with volunteers, nature playground protagonists, and NGOs. In addition, a wide variety of documents have been analyzed from websites to policy documents and newspaper articles.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Authier and Lehman-Frisch (2013) Le goût des autres: Gentrification told by children. Urban Studies, 50(3), 994–1010.
Baay, J. H. (1960). Ongevallen bij kinderen: een onderzoek naar de preventiemogelijkheden in de practijk. Assen: Van Gorcum.
Both, K. (2006). Leve de verscheidenheid! De Wereld van het jonge kind, 33(2) 171–176.
Bourke, J. (2014). “No messing allowed”: The enactment of childhood in urban public space from the perspective of the child. Children, Youth and Environments, 24(1), 25–52.
Bouwmeester, H. (2006). Handboek gemeentelijk speelruimtebeleid. Utrecht: Jantje Beton.
Bowler, D., Buyung-Ali, M., Knight, T., & Pullin, A. (2010). A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health, 10, 456.
Chawla, L. (2006). Learning to love the natural world enough to protect it. Barn, 2, 57–58.
Chawla, L. (2014). Children’s engagement with the natural world as a ground for healing. In M. Krasny & K. Tidball (Eds.), Greening in the red zone: Disaster, resilience & community greening (pp. 111–124). Dordrecht: Springer.
Chawla, L., Derr, V., Mintzer, M., & Van Vliet, W. (2013). A city for all citizens: Boulder’s approach to integrating children and youth from marginalized populations into city planning. Buildings, 3(1), 482–505.
Derr, V., & Lance, K. (2012). Biophilic Boulder: Children’s Environments That Foster Connections to Nature. Children, Youth and Environments Journal, 22(2), 112–143.
Folkerts, K. (2014). Waarom burgers niet naar overheden luisteren. Sociaal bestek, 76(4), 56–57.
Gill, T. (2014). The benefits of children’s engagement with nature: A systematic literature review. Children, Youth & Environments, 24(2), 10–34.
Hjorthol, R., & Bjornskau, T. (2005). Gentrification in Norway: Capital, culture or convenience? European Urban and Regional Studies, 12, 353–371.
Hollowat, S., & Pimlott-Wilson, H. (2014). Enriching children, institutionalizing childhood? Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 104, 613–627.
Holloway, S., & Valentine, G. (2000). Children’s geographies: Playing, living, learning. London: Routledge.
Hume, C., et al. (2005). Children’s perceptions of their home and neighborhood environments, and their association with objectively measured physical activity: A qualitative and quantitative study. Health Education Research, 20(1), 1–13.
Jarass, J., & Heinrichs, D. (2014). New urban living and mobility. Transportation Research Procedia, 1, 142–153.
Kahn, P. H., Jr., & Kellert, S. R. (Eds.). (2002). Children and nature: Psychological, sociocultural, and evolutionary investigations. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Karsten, L. (2014). From yuppies to yupps: Family gentrifiers consuming spaces and re-inventing cities. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 105(2), 175–188.
Karsten, L. (2015). Middle class childhood and parenting culture in high-rise Hong Kong: On scheduled lives, the school trap and a new urban idyll. Children’s Geographies, 5, 556–570.
Leufgen, W., & Van Lier, M. (2007). Vrij spel voor kinderen en natuur. Utrecht: Jan van Arkel.
Lilius, J. (2014). Is there room for families in the inner-city? Life-stage blenders challenging planning. Housing Studies, 29, 843–861.
Lobst, S., et al. (2009). Speelnatuur in de stad: hoe maak je dat? Utrecht: Jan van Arkel.
Louv, R. (2007). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Maller, C., & Townsend, M. (2006). Children’s mental health and wellbeing and hands-on contact with nature. International Journal of Learning, 12, 359–372.
Meulmeester, M., & Veltman, M. (2002). Natuurspeeltuin de Speeldernis. Ruimte voor Contact, 2, 1–3.
Nedovic, S., & Morrissey, A. (2013). Calm, active and focused: Children’s responses to an organic outdoor learning environment. Learning Environments Research, 16(2), 281–295.
Nelissen, M. (2013). Groen speelplezier: Creatieve en praktische werkvormen in een natuurspeeltuin. Utrecht: NUSO Speelruimte Nederland.
NUSO. (2008). Speelnatuur en veiligheid. online document: www.nuso.nl/publicaties
Opbroek, R. (2011). Natuurspeeltuin anders dan een suffe wipkip. Jeugdbeleid, 5(2), 105–111.
Papma, A. (2013). Risico’s leren je leven. Educare, 30(2), 30–31.
Plantenga, J. (2007). Arbeid en zorg in een activerende participatiemaatschappij – Op zoek naar een optimale verantwoordelijkheidsverdeling tussen overheid en sociale partners. B en M: tijdschrift voor beleid, politiek en maatschappij, 34(1), 47–56.
Schouten, M. (1998). Op zoek naar beweging: een overzicht van onderzoek en beleid op het raakvlak van veiligheid, openbare ruimte, gezondheid en de bewegingsvrijheid van kinderen. Amsterdam: Stichting Kinderen Voorrang.
Schwebel, S. (2006). Safety on the playground: Mechanisms through which adult supervision might prevent child playground injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 13(2), 141–149.
Selten, P., Adriaanse, C., & Becker, B. (2000). Af en toe met pa en moe…De speeltuinbeweging in Nederland. Utrecht: De Tijdstroom.
Spierts, M., & Duyvendak, J. W. (2013). Stille krachten van de verzorgingsstaat verdienen beter. Tijdschrift voor Sociale Vraagstukken, 106(1), 20–25.
Tovey, H. (2007). Playing outdoors: Spaces and places, risk and challenge. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Tweede Kamer der Staten Generaal. (1996). Besluit veiligheid attractie- en speeltoestellen Besluit van 3 september 1996 tot vaststelling van een algemene maatregel van bestuur ter uitvoering van de Wet op de gevaarlijke werktuigen. Den Haag
Van Den Berg, A. (2007). Spelen in het groen: effecten van een bezoek aan een natuurspeeltuin op het speelgedrag, de lichamelijke activiteit, de concentratie en de stemming van kinderen. Wageningen: Alterra.
Van der Hoek, E., & Herrewegen, J. (2005). Hoe een simpel grasveld een woeste weide werd. Oase, 4, 20–23.
Van Der Linden, J. (2014). Nieuwe kansen voor de stille krachten van de verzorgingsstaat in de participatiesamenleving? Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice, 23 (6), 71–74.
Verstrate, L., & Karsten, L. (2011). The creation of play spaces in twentieth century Amsterdam: From an intervention of civil actors to a public policy. Landscape Research, 36(1), 85–109.
Wagenaar, A., Wijnja, A., Vonder, A., Van der Put, I., & Van Lier, M. (2012). Allemaal spelen! Den Hoorn: Uitgeverij Stichting Oase.
Woolley, H. (2009). Every child matters in public open spaces. In A. Millie (Ed.), Securing respect: Behavioural expectations and anti-social behaviour in the UK. Bristol: Policy Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this entry
Cite this entry
Verstrate, L., Karsten, L. (2016). Development of Nature Playgrounds from the 1970s Onwards. In: Evans, B., Horton, J., Skelton, T. (eds) Play and Recreation, Health and Wellbeing. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-51-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-51-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-4585-50-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-4585-51-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences