An Expert Assessment On Playspace Designs And Thermal Environments In A Canadian Context

Authors

Daniel J. Vecellio
Jennifer K. Vanos, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Eric Kennedy, Bucknell UniversityFollow
Heather Olsen, University of Northern IowaFollow
Gregory R.A. Richardson, Health CanadaFollow

Comments

First published in Urban Climate, 44: e101235 (2022) published by Elsevier. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101235

Document Type

Article

Publication Version

Published Version

Keywords

Child, Climate change, Hot temperature, Play, Playground, Ultraviolet rays, Urban health

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Urban Climate

Volume

44

Abstract

Playgrounds are a hub for child play and concerns that may impact children's play there may hinder their health and well-being. Extreme temperatures can increase risks in children of sunstroke, burns from playground surfaces, and exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Despite health risks from extreme heat to children, existing playground design standards around the world, including in Canada, make little-to-no mention of how to design playgrounds for thermal comfort, particularly in summer. To help fill this gap in the Canadian context, several organizations collaborated to develop guidance for thermally comfortable playgrounds in Canada. As part of this project, an online survey was administered to 55 experts with diverse professional backgrounds, largely from Canada and the United States, to determine how thermal comfort is viewed in playground design and safety. Survey results showed agreement among experts that thermal comfort receives low or no priority in playground design but should be prioritized or considered alongside other safety factors in relevant playground safety guidelines and standards. The results of this survey not only helped inform the 2020 publication of a Thermal Comfort annex to the CSA Group's Children's playgrounds and equipment standard (CAN/CSA Z614) but could also help inform future research and practice globally.

Department

Department of Health, Recreation, and Community Services

Original Publication Date

7-1-2022

Object Description

1 PDF File

DOI of published version

10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101235

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Date Digital

2022

Copyright

©2022 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-No Derivatives Works International 4.0 License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Vecellio, Daniel J.; Vanos, Jennifer K.; Kennedy, Eric; Olsen, Heather; and Richardson, Gregory R.A., "An Expert Assessment On Playspace Designs And Thermal Environments In A Canadian Context" (2022). Faculty Publications. 5302.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/5302