สนามเด็กเล่น ผู้ใหญ่ร่วม

A recent talk on ‘hobbies’ or งานอติเรก (= งานพิเศษ; the word งาน here means ‘work out’ or ‘exercise’ – not ‘job’ or ‘business’) naturally turned into another related topic :  ‘playground’ (in Thai  ‘สนามเด็กเล่น’). Playground is meant to be a facility for children to develop their own body, brain and behavior. In the same way as ‘sports-ground’ is meant to be a facility for people to develop under a sport code (or rule of game). But we went further into innovation of playgrounds.  We talked about the ground that can be used by children, parents, … people of all ages, genders, … for many activities such as play (games, sports, music, acting, …); festivity (festivals, parades, exhibitions, …); community venue (markets, meetings, gardening…); and so on. In practice, these activities are already organized using available ‘public venue’ like ‘town park’(สวนศรีเมือง), ‘wat’(วัด), ‘hall’(ศาลา), ‘school’ (โรงเรียน) and ‘hotel’(โรงแรม).

So

• Why do we need to innovate ‘playgrounds’?
• What about multi-function(อเนกประสงค์) ‘public grounds’?
• How such facilities are funded and run - by elected committee?

I hope that this would stir some thoughts and ideas. I am sure that we can come up with a more versatile versions of playgrounds that provide support for development of children, adults, communities, societies,… that are well maintained and managed by the community (of proximity). ##I see that ‘innovative’ playgrounds will be tourists attractions that generate economic returns for the whole region.##  (You can comment or write your own blogs on this ;-). 

I looked up Wikipedia/Playground and found this:

Safety Statistics
- Falls account for approximately 75% of all playground-related injuries.[16]
- 9 out of 10 serious injuries (mainly head injuries and fractures) are caused by falls to the surface.[16]
- About 45% of playground-related injuries are severe–fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations.[1]
- While all children who use playgrounds are at risk for injury, girls sustain injuries (55%) slightly more often than boys (45%).[1]
- Children ages 5 to 9 have higher rates of emergency department visits for playground injuries than any other age group. Most of these injuries occur at school

And I looked up a particular playground equipment : Roundabout

There are many designs and builds of roundabouts (for play), very common is a ‘merry-go-round’

 

Merry-go-round - credit image Wikipedia

Addendum: In a similar fashion, we can think of ways to innovate neglected public areas and spaces into community services and commercial venues. Footpaths in Bangkok are (had been) international success story that bring (brought in the past) overseas tourists by the millions every year. Meditation facilities around Thailand are also destinations for thousands. Wats and monuments of course are examples.

[Added 9/4/2565 : ‘ชัชชาติ’ ปราศรัยย่อย ย้ำนโยบาย ‘สวน 15 นาที’ เร่งฟื้นฟูลานกีฬา 1,000 แห่งทั่ว กทม.  https://www.matichon.co.th/bkkpataya/governorbkk/news_3279700 is a use of “playground” or public space in community in a political campaign, ..สวนบริเวณสะพานพระราม 8 เป็นตัวอย่างพื้นที่สาธารณะคุณภาพที่ควรกระจายทั่ว กทม. เพื่อเป็นพื้นที่ออกกำลังกายและพักผ่อนหย่อนใจของคนกรุงเทพฯ จึงเสนอนโยบาย “สวน 15 นาที” หรือการกระจายพื้นที่สาธารณะให้ทุกคนสามารถเข้าถึงได้ใน 15 นาที หรือในระยะทาง 800 เมตร.. (There is no mention of safety, health and maintenance issues of these playgrounds.) This is a big step forwards for health of Bangkok residents.]