Nothing for Us
The other day I was talking to a fellow in my neighborhood who was in a wheelchair. We talked about the activities offered in the parks in our neighborhood, we agreed they essentially offered none for him as a wheelchair person, and none for me as a senior citizen.
Something for Everyone
I then pointed to the library that was right across the street from where we were talking. It was far smaller then any of the parks in our neighborhood, yet offered us and the rest of the community a choice of thousands of "recreation objects" ( better know as books and magazines). I said to him rather then parks being based solely on installing a small number of high usage fixed equipment elements , what if our parks additionally offered a library type parkhouses stocked with all sorts of recreation equipment so as to offer something for everyone? He agreed with me this would be a good idea. Here are 4 ways to implement this a Library-Parks Parkhouse Model
-The Importance of Loose Parts and Movable Objects
-A Staffed Library Parkhouse in the Park
-Parks with a Library Near the park acting as Parkhouse
- Recreation Equipment Lockers in Parks
-Getting Libraries and Parks to Cooperate
The Library-Parks Recreation Model , Inclusive Recreation for all Ages and Abilities
How would you define disability?
Something
that limits you due to x, y or z. Everyone has a disability of some
sort. No one's perfect. Everyone has a flaw of some type. In terms of
ADA, we should all be treated the same, because we are all disabled.
-Christopher Noel, NYC Parks ADA Accessibility Coordinator
-Christopher Noel, NYC Parks ADA Accessibility Coordinator
The ADA covers making parks accessible , it doesn't really cover making them inclusive.
Inclusion and Exclusion
Features Inclusion
An exclusive park is one having offerings for only some people not all people. , Inclusive is having offerings for all of the people. There is a park down the block from me it has a basketball court,chess tables, a jungle gym, a volley ball court, benches and several sidewalk games. It is inclusive if you want to play Basketball, it is exclusive if you want to play ping pong. Fixed equipment only parks are usually features exclusive. Library-Parks Partnership model parks are by nature features inclusive, if they don't have any offerings to suit you, new offerings can be easily added.
Social Inclusion
. My current thought is Inclusive activities allow anyone to join in . Exclusive activities mean you can't join in. A soccer game using a audible soccer ball turns an activity that excludes the visually impaired to one that is includes them.
Loose Parts/ Movable Equipment
Loose parts are objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. With endless possibilities of play, they provide a high level of creativity and choice and develop children’s imagination. Children often prefer playing with boxes, sticks, rocks, water, sand, and ropes that can be manipulated in whatever way they choose over traditional toys that have limited flexibility and play value. It has often been observed that children presented with a gift will play longer with the box than with the toy that was in it link
RMIT University, Australia
Jay Town
"Conventional playgrounds are designed by adults - they don't actually take into consideration how the children want to play, how the children actually direct their play."
"Schools are putting all this money into designing playgrounds, and requiring all this funding,'' Mr Hyndman said.
"This is a very cost-effective, simple idea and it's just showing a range of benefits that have been even better than your fixed, conventional playgrounds." link
University of North Carolina
A recent study of daycare-center playgrounds found that when kids had access to items like balls, hula hoops, and jump ropes, they were more active than when they had only stationary structures to play on... Typical playground equipment does help develop certain motor skills, like climbing," says study coauthor Dianne Ward, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "But kids play harder and longer when they have more portable playthings around."
link
The authors of the book People Places made the statement "The natural environment of a park is not enough to attract some elderly users, but a park with many activities can simulate social exchange and provide a sense of belonging" Put another way, a bench is not enough to attract some seniors to a park.
There are many types recreation children need . Fixed equipment only playgrounds often only offer active (and then only some types of active). Library-Parks model playgrounds are far more inclusive.
A staffed parkhouse can store all sorts of play equipment for the abled and the disabled. I did ain person survey of able residents of the Midtown South Area of Manhattan. Here are some of the equipment they reeuested.
Most requested activities
Piano,
New York Times
Ping pong,
Exercise Bikes
Chess
Jump Rope,
Hula Hoop
Foosball
Wall Street Journal
Pool Table
Air Hockey
Gian Screen TV
Horse Shoes
Scrabble
Board Games
Comic Books
Rocking Chairs
Swing Seats
Nok Hockey
Squeeze Balls
Daily News
Corn Hole (note 1)
Power Bands
Least Requested acrtivities
By giving area residents a listt of possible equipment they want, you can create a starter collection for the parkhouse. Once the parkhouse is up and running, it wiull continue to organize itself through the requests of its usres.
By giving area residents a listt of possible equipment they want, you can create a starter collection for the parkhouse. Once the parkhouse is up and running, it wiull continue to organize itself through the requests of its usres.
Not so special special needs equipment
As some of the above examples show "special needs” recreation equipment often need
not be special, they
just
need to be
available . Here's a few more examples puppets and Lego for autism, a hula hoop for the blind , Parkinson disease, and stroke victims , and Bilibo for Downs Syndrome,and horse shoes and table games for seniors. 
Special recreation equipment for special needs
These types of equipment can be purchased on demand and stored in one of the 3 Library Model Recreation Parkhouses as needed.
These types of equipment can be purchased on demand and stored in one of the 3 Library Model Recreation Parkhouses as needed.
Special needs equipment that the Library-Parks model could lend include...
Tandem Rocker
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