Children’s Preferences for Playground Landscapes:
A Preliminary Study

by Marcelene Kubbs

Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee
Assistant Professor Julie M. Johnson

2002

Millions of children under the age of five are currently in child care or other out-of-home care settings in our country. They spend significant amounts of time playing outdoors in sterile environments often consisting of a single piece of play equipment and rubber mats. Both child development and landscape design professionals have recommended that numerous elements such as complexity, “loose parts” and natural features such as trees and other vegetation be incorporated into the design of a play landscape. Some of these elements have been reported to stimulate children’s development. This study used a visual preference test using 12 photos of playgrounds developed in Adobe Photoshop that incorporated two expert-recommended design features: landscape complexity, and landscape material (built and natural). The primary question explored was whether young children, aged three to five, preferred complex playground designs that incorporated built or natural elements. Results indicated that children’s preferences align with recommendations, providing further support to them. Results also indicated that young children are able to verbalize landscape preferences. Suggestions are made to further incorporate the recommended design elements in playgrounds and to include children in the design process.