Professional Practice Networks
Childrens Outdoor Environments Resources
PPN-Hosted Webinars
Inclusive Play Matters: Evidence-Based Design Best Practices for Play and Recreation Destinations - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Standards for the Accessible Design of Outdoor Play & Recreation Destinations - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Biophilic Design for Healthy Childhood Development - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Empowerment in the Playground: Planning for Inclusive Interaction and Barrier Elimination for Children with Down Syndrome - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Infusing Nature into the Everyday Spaces of Childhood - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
A Higher Level of Inclusive Play
PPN Zoom Book Club
May 2025: Digging into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Happier and Healthier Kids, by Pooja Sarin Tandon, MD, MPH, FAAP, and Danette Swanson Glassy, MD, FAAP
PPN members, look for the link to register in your email inbox!
September 2024: The Nature of Inclusive Play: A Guide for Designers, Educators and Therapists, by Amy Wagenfeld, Affil. ASLA, PhD, OTR/L, SCEM, CAPS, EDAC, FAOTA, and Chad Kennedy, ASLA, PLA, CPSI
May 2024: Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children by Angela Hanscom
January 2024: Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors by Rue Mapp
October 2023: Naturally Inclusive: Engaging Children of All Abilities Outdoors by Ruth Wilson, PhD
May 2023: Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind by Claire Latané, FASLA, MLA, SITES AP
January 2023: Letting Play Bloom: Designing Nature-Based Risky Play for Children by Lolly Tai, PhD, RLA, FASLA
PPN Meetings at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture
2024 PPN Meeting
See The Field for the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN's recap of their meeting at ASLA 2024 in Washington, D.C., which featured Caroline Templeton, PLA, and Gregory Miller, FASLA, PLA, speaking on inclusive outdoor play space design.
2023 PPN Meeting
Context matters, even at play! The Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN session reflected on how a great playscape can cultivate a sense of place, offering intriguing “aha” moments about culture, city, and region to punctuate the happy clamor of active and creative play. Brief talks were given by Cheryl Salazar, Managing Partner at PLAYCE Studio, Ltd., and Kate Tooke, ASLA, Principal at Agency, followed by an interactive conversation. Cheryl discussed a dynamic placemaking method designed to tackle community engagement challenges in children’s outdoor environments, equipping attendees with actionable tools for building consensus and support from both internal and external stakeholders. See Cheryl's handout for here presentation here. Kate shared some project examples from her work and the work of collaborators to talk about contextual design and how that crafts stewardship and grounds visitors in the landscape/city.
2022 PPN Meeting
A Conversation on Trauma Responsive Design Thinking
At the ASLA 2022 Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, the PPN hosted a campfire session on trauma responsive design.
2018 PPN Meeting
Parks, Play, and People: Equity and Community in Recreation
The ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO’s joint meeting of the Children’s Outdoor Environments and Parks & Recreation Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) featured short presentations by Joy Kuebler, ASLA, Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect, PC; Andrew Spurlock, FASLA, Spurlock Landscape Architects; and Diane Jones Allen, ASLA, The University of Texas at Arlington and DesignJones, LLC.
2015 PPN Meeting
Children's Outdoor Environments PPN members shared the following presentations at the 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago:
The Manzanita Gathering Place: Engaging Youth in Creative Place Making
Ilisa Goldman, ASLA
Community Design Collaborative: Strengthening Neighborhoods Through Design
Alexa Bosse, Associate ASLA
Risky Elements in Play Design
Shannon Mikus, Associate ASLA
Universal Design
If we want everyone to participate in public life, we must design and build an inclusive public realm that is accessible to all. The sizeable global population of people with physical, auditory, or visual disabilities, autism or neurodevelopmental and/or intellectual disabilities, or neuro-cognitive disorders will face greater challenges if we don’t begin to more widely apply universal design principles. Landscape architects and designers plan and design inclusive spaces for all users. ASLA's Universal Design guide includes information specifically on children, with sections on playgrounds, gardens, and parks and plazas.
Health Benefits of Nature
ASLA's Health Benefits of Nature guide includes information specifically on children. Topics covered include: ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cognition, Depression, General Health, Nature Deficit Disorder, Obesity, Stress, Type II Diabetes, and Well-being.
PPN Newsletters
Before The Field was established in 2012 as the PPNs' blog, the Children's Outdoor Environments PPN published several online newsletters:
Summer 2012 | Summer 2011 | Winter 2010 | Summer 2009
Additional ASLA Resources
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