Public play and leisure areas are important for the social infrastructure of a city. They are of great importance for young people growing up. This is because good motor and cognitive development and a wide range of play opportunities improve the development opportunities and quality of life of children and young people. Play is an elementary building block for children's personal development: Through play, they learn a sense of community, social skills, self-esteem and the ability to deal with conflict.
However, especially in urban environments with dense development and heavy traffic, spaces are scarce. This makes public play areas all the more important. For many children whose families do not have their own garden, they are often the only places where they can let off steam, play together outdoors, experiment creatively or simply meet up and relax. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child also emphasizes that children have a right to play and age-appropriate active recreation. The city of Bonn is also on its way to becoming a child-friendly municipality and is committed to social justice in its actions.
Green play areas for a better quality of life
In order to maintain and further expand Bonn's play landscape in terms of quantity and quality, the Office for Children, Youth and Families and the Office for the Environment and Urban Greenery have jointly presented the revised play area concept. The Council has now adopted it. "It is necessary to look at urban design as a whole and develop child and family-friendly living spaces in a growing city with increasing numbers of children," says Gitte Sturm, Head of the Office for Children, Youth and Families. "Especially in high-density districts with little green and open space, naturally designed play areas can also contribute to more outdoor recreation opportunities and thus to a better quality of life," adds David Baier, Head of the Office for the Environment and Urban Greenery.
The play area concept sets out the goals for the development of Bonn's play landscape. It sets out the conceptual approach for the individual tasks and fields of action. The play area concept develops quality objectives, for example on educational aspects or design, which are necessary for further planning. The play area concept sets out the criteria for planning playground requirements, the standards for the design of new playgrounds and objectives for the development of comprehensive play guidance planning.
The play area concept is therefore a basic instrument for improving the infrastructure for children and families in a city-wide context. Not only the demands of adults and the creation of living space, but also the needs of children and young people must be taken into account in the planning process and open spaces must be provided.
The comprehensive concept can be viewed here (opens in a new tab).
Playground needs planning: instrument for improving the public play landscape
With 286 facilities, the city of Bonn has a diverse range of public playgrounds and football pitches. However, depending on the district, these are equipped very differently and need to be redesigned or playground equipment replaced or added. In order to map out exactly what is needed here, the Office for Children, Youth and Families has revised the playground requirements plan following a comprehensive inventory and presented it with recommendations for action. The Council has now adopted this plan.
Using a standardized assessment procedure, the city of Bonn has evaluated each individual play area based on its potential. The demographic structure and population development in the respective statistical districts were also taken into account. As the playgrounds and football pitches cannot all be refurbished at the same time due to limited financial and personnel resources, the city has also drawn up a list of priorities with the playground requirements plan.
The aim is to provide all children in Bonn with easily accessible playgrounds that meet their needs. Through restructuring, additions and redesigns, a needs-based and attractive play landscape is to be created throughout the city and maintained in the long term.
At least six square meters of play area per child
A supply of playground space of six to eleven square meters per child up to the age of 14 is considered to be in line with demand. This guideline value has already proven to be demand-oriented in previous plans and is therefore also retained for the current playground requirement planning. It makes sense to set a range, as not only the number of children, but also the type of development and the location of the district are relevant.
If there are green and recreational areas nearby, such as the Rheinaue and banks of the Rheinaue, Grünzug Nord, Ennert and Kottenforst, a smaller playground area may be required than in high-density inner city areas. The number of detached houses with gardens, path connections and boundaries, such as railroad lines or busy roads, are also included in the assessment. In areas with sparse development, a high proportion of detached houses and proximity to local recreation areas, a playground provision of six square meters per child under the age of 15 may be perfectly adequate. In denser districts with a high proportion of apartment buildings and few green spaces, more public play space is needed.
Playgrounds on school and daycare grounds as well as in private residential complexes are not included in the planning as they are not accessible or only accessible at times. The city of Bonn has marked all playgrounds and football pitches in a four-stage traffic light system from dark green (very good, no need for action) to light green (good, medium-term need for action), orange (sufficient, short-term need for action) to red (poor, immediate need for action). The prioritization is corresponding.
Districts with a large number of playgrounds in need of action are prioritized. A key indicator of the need for action is also the level of underuse. This results from the difference between the actual stock and the desired target supply of at least six square meters per child under the age of 15.
The playground requirements plan with the detailed list of priorities starting on page 12 can be found here (opens in a new tab).