Samenspeelplekken Den Haag

Playing outdoors is of great importance to children. It provides them with much enjoyment and relaxation, and it is healthy because children are much more active outside than indoors, thus coming into contact with the fresh air and the outdoors. Additionally, it is educational because children learn various skills through outdoor play, such as motor and social skills. Through individual contact, they learn to deal with diversity and those with different views. This implies, for adults as well as for children: unfamiliarity breeds dislike, and we want to prevent that.

It is important that all children can benefit from the advantages of outdoor play. This includes young and old, boys and girls, and children with or without disabilities. Therefore, this diversity of needs and abilities must be taken into account in the design of playgrounds. This means, among other things, that careful consideration must be given to the reachability, accessibility, and playability of playgrounds, so that children with disabilities can also play there and experience a sense of belonging.

Background

The Municipality of The Hague’s ‘Local Inclusion Agenda’ lists various actions aimed at improving the position of people with disabilities in The Hague’s society. One of these actions concerns the inclusive play areas in The Hague. An inclusive play area is a place where children with and without disabilities can meet and play together. It is a play area where everyone is welcome, where 70% of the play elements are accessible to all children, and where 50% of the play elements are playable for every child. It is a play area focused on encouraging interaction and playing together. However, at present, it is unknown how the inclusive play areas are being used. Are they visited by children with disabilities or only by children without disabilities? Do children with and without disabilities actually play together?

Research Questions

In recent years, there has been increasing attention—both nationally and internationally—to outdoor play for children with disabilities. In line with this, more and more research is being conducted into this theme, although this shows that much knowledge is context-dependent. To optimize and further roll out inclusive play areas in The Hague, it is therefore necessary to gain more insight into how these inclusive play areas are currently designed and used. The Municipality of The Hague has asked The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences to assist with this. Two inclusive play areas were investigated. Among other things, the study examined how and by whom these areas are used and whether inclusive play takes place. Additionally, the study investigated the stimulating and inhibiting factors regarding the use or non-use of these inclusive play areas.

Target group

The target group of this project is children aged four to twelve, with and without disabilities.

Method

Various research methods were employed to gain more insight into usage, experience, and interaction:

• Various research methods were employed to gain more insight into usage, experience, and interaction:
• Based on a comprehensive checklist, the collaborative play areas were assessed objectively and systematically regarding their play possibilities and various preconditions (including inclusivity).
• A generative focus group was organized with professionals and parents to gain insight into the stimulating and hindering factors.
• Observational research was conducted to see who uses these play areas and how they play together.
• Interviews were held with parents and children to hear their opinions on the collaborative play areas.

Results

The two inclusive play areas investigated meet a large number of physical prerequisites and have a high play value. This ensures that these play areas are visited regularly to frequently. However, we did not observe children with a visible disability during our routine observations. This is despite the fact that the two investigated play areas feature multiple interesting play attributes that are also accessible to children with disabilities. Observations and conversations with parents reveal that there are a number of potential areas for improvement—both physical and social—to increase usage.

From a physical perspective, it is important to pay sufficient attention to the reachability, accessibility, and comfort of these play areas, in addition to inclusive play equipment. Furthermore, there appears to be a primary focus on children with physical disabilities and less on children with visual or intellectual disabilities.

Furthermore, more attention should be paid to the social barriers that make outdoor play difficult for children with disabilities. On the one hand, there are social judgments, a lack of awareness of disabilities, and exclusion by others; on the other hand, there is the insecurity among children with disabilities and their parents that prevents contact and interaction between children with and without disabilities from occurring. Children often need to get used to each other's differences before playing together can happen naturally. Therefore, there is a need for (light) guidance, supervision, and support at playgrounds to enable inclusive play. Activities at fixed times and specific locations can also help encourage more families to participate and make play more accessible for all children.

In short, to make optimal use of shared play areas, a combination of physical accessibility, social accessibility, expert guidance, and appropriate activities is required. Only then can children with and without disabilities play together safely, enjoyably, and meaningfully.

Want to read more? A report containing all the results of the research has been published. In addition, an infographic has been created with the key conclusions and recommendations for creating inclusive playgrounds.

• Report Shared Play Areas The Hague
• Infographic of shared play areas in The Hague

Duration

This project started in February 2025 and ran through December 2025.

Team

Monique Berger (HHs)

Gerben Helleman (HHs)

Rinus van der Schoof (HHs)

Karlijn Sporrel (HHs)

Sanne de Vries (HHs)

Ryan Beekhuizen (HU)

Manon Bloemen (HU)

Collaboration

For this project, the Centre of Expertise Health Innovation at The Hague University of Applied Sciences collaborates with:

• Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (Professorship Movement and Growing Up Together)
• Municipality of The Hague
• Voorall

Contact

Gerben Helleman ([email protected])