Designing public playgrounds for inclusion: a scoping review of grey literature guidelines for Universal Design

Figures & data

Figure 1. PRISMA diagram of study selection process (Moher et al. 2009).

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Freely accessible guideline documents for designing public playgrounds for inclusion.	Inaccessible guideline documents (e.g. at a cost) for designing public playgrounds for inclusion.
Guideline documents that focus on designing public playgrounds for inclusion.	Documents that did not focus on designing public playgrounds for inclusion (e.g. focused on nature exclusively).
Guideline documents that translate to other contexts (e.g. general guidance).	Guideline documents for specific contexts that do not translate to other contexts (e.g. compliance with country specific standards/laws).
Available in English language.	Not available in English language.

Table 2. Design approaches, principles and recommendations.

No.	Author(s), Publication year and location	Title	Main agent	Page count	Design approach(es)			Design principles	Play value design recommendations
					Accessible design	Inclusive design	UD		Engaging people of all ages and abilities	Selecting play space equipment	Accessing play space equipment	Grouping play space equipment	Incorporating risk and challenge	Physical play	Sensory play	Social play	Cognitive/Dramatic/Imaginative play
1	Alison and Wheway 2004 UK	Can play, will play: Disabled children and access to outdoor playgrounds	Non-profit organisation	45	●				●	●	●			●		●
2	DESSA 2007 Ireland	Play for all: Providing play facilities for disabled children		44	●	●			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
3	Shackell et al. 2008 UK	Design for play: A guide to creating successful play spaces		156	●	●		*10 principles	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
4	Touched by Olivia 2012 Australia	The principles for inclusive play		7		●		(1) Everyone can play (2) A connection to community (3) Access to nature (4) Total experience (5) Play independence: I can do it myself (6) Friendship and social participation	●					●	●	●	●
5	Play Wales 2016 UK	Developing and managing play spaces: A community toolkit		37	●	●		*10 principles	●	●				●	●	●	●
6	Yuen 2016 China	Inclusive play space guide: Championing better and more inclusive spaces in Hong Kong		132	●	●	●	** 7 UD principles	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
7	Pooja Hiranandani, Krishnamoorthy, and Gopal 2016 India	Breaking barriers through play: Policy guidelines and a technical manual for making play spaces inclusive		117	●	●		(1) Reach (2) Dedicated spaces for play (3) Inclusion and accessibility (4) Age-appropriateness (5) Free (6) Protection and safety (7) Community participation	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●
8	Play Wales and Alison John and Associates 2017 UK	Creating accessible play spaces: A toolkit		47	●	●	●			●	●		●	●	●	●	●
9	Casey and Harbottle 2018 UK	Free to play: A guide to creating accessible and inclusive public play spaces		60	●	●	●	(1) Inclusive(2) Responsive (3) Flexible (4) Convenient (5) Accommodating for all people (6) Welcoming (7) Realistic	●	●	●			●	●	●	●
10	Inclusive Play, KIDS, and Wagenfeld 2019 UK	PiPA: Plan inclusive Play Areas		N/A	●	●		(1) Plan to go (2) Plan to access (3) Plan to play (4) Plan to rest and recharge (5) Plan to engage (6) Plan to expand	●		●		●	●	●	●	●
11	Rick Hansen Foundation 2019 Canada	A guide to creating accessible play spaces		92	●	●	●	** 7 UD principles	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
12	Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation n.d. USA	Toolkit for building an inclusive community playground		20	●	●			●					●	●	●	●
13	Rick Hansen Foundation n.d. Canada	Let's play toolkit: Creating inclusive play spaces for children of all abilities		40	●	●	●		●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●
14	Luce 2015 Australia	Inclusive design manual: A guide to creating play spaces which welcome children of all abilities	Industrial organisations	21		●			●	●			●	●		●
15	HAGS 2018 UK	Inclusive play design guide		56	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
16	Landscape Structures 2018 USA	Inclusive playspace design: Planning guide		20	●	●	●			●			●	●	●	●	●
17	HAGS 2019 UK	Guide to creating inclusive playgrounds		24	●	●			●	●			●
18	Playworld 2019 USA	Inclusive play design guide		45	●	●	●	** 7 UD principles	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
19	Kompan Play Institute 2020 Denmark	Play for all: Universal design for inclusive playgrounds		36	●	●	●	** 7 UD principles	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
20	Dunn, Moore, and Murray 2003 UK	Developing accessible play space: A good practice guide	Government organisations	40	●	●		(1) What to put in the play space (2) Using the natural environment (3) Social experience of play (4) Safety (5) Designing for families	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●
21	State of Victoria 2007 Australia	The good play space guide: ‘I can play too’		80	●	●	●	(1) Play value (2) Accessibility/inclusion (3) Safety	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●
22	NSW Government 2019 Australia	Everyone can play: A guideline to create inclusive playspaces		78	●	●	●	(1) Find (2) Fit (3) Choose (4) Join in (5) Thrive (6) Belong	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
23	Government of South Australia n.d. Australia	Inclusive play: Guidelines for accessible playspaces		40	●	●		(1) Connect with place (2) Connect with each other (3) Connect with self	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
24	PlayCore, GameTime, and Utah State University 2008 USA	EveryBODY plays!	Industrial-Education cooperation	19	●	●	●	(1) Be fair (2) Be included (3) Be smart (4) Be independent (5) Be safe (6) Be active (7) Be comfortable	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
25	PlayCore and Utah State University 2016 USA	Me2: 7 principles of inclusive playground design		57	●	●	●	(1) Be fair (2) Be included (3) Be smart (4) Be independent (5) Be safe (6) Be active (7) Be comfortable	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
26	CABE Space 2008 UK	Public space lessons: Designing and planning for play	Government advisory organisation	8	●			(1) Designed to enhance its setting (2) Located in the best possible place (3) Close to nature (4) Designed so that children can play in different ways (5) Geared towards encouraging disabled and able-bodied children to play together (6) Loved by the community (7) Where children of all ages play together (8) Designed to enable children to stretch and challenge themselves in every way (9) Maintained for play value and environmental sustainability (10) Flexible and able to evolve as the children grow	●	●		●
27	Liedtke 2016 USA	Creating inclusive play and community spaces: An out-of-the-box approach to social and emotional inclusion	Education	52	●	●			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●

Notes: *10 principles (Are bespoke; Are well located; Make use of natural elements; Provide a wide range of play experiences; Are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children; Meet community needs; Allow children of different ages to play together; Build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge; Are sustainable and appropriately maintained; and Allow for change and evolution).

** 7 UD principles (Equitable use; Flexibility in use; Simple and intuitive use; Perceptible information; Tolerance for use error; Low physical effort; and Size and space for approach and use).

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