Inclusive Play

We are very pleased to be working with the Anchorage Park Foundation and the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department on a Strategic Plan for Inclusive Playgrounds in Anchorage. Our desire for play design has always been to strive for universal access... and that goes in general for our Landscape Architecture and Planning practice. There are true and distinct challenges in doing this (in the face of complicated sites and budgets) but decisions can be made to allow sites to be enjoyed equally by as broad a section of the populace as possible. What sticks with us is the idea that we might be stopped by some barrier that we couldn't surmount, and our friends would be able to move on without us to other fun things. That isn't such a good feeling to be left behind, no matter how short the time might be.

The idea of inclusive play and universal access is becoming more and more present in media and our community discussions. Here's an article from today in the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/relationship/265593651.html

Lucas Dean, 4, spent an afternoon with his parents, Jay and Karen Dean, and his sister, Isla, playing in a neighborhood park. The St. Louis Park boy has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair to get around.