Eureka! Institutional Repository

Outdoor play benefits children and helps them develop language as well as physical and social skills. It contributes to learning and discovering new things, experimenting, feeling joy, security and communicating with others. Having taken into consideration children's need for play, especially in modern cities, local authorities have built many new playgrounds, inline with current legislation and applicable specifications and standards. However, research shows that children with disabilities (PWDs) have limited access to the areas and the use of playground equipment, despite the necessary certification and the mark of suitability that these playgrounds have received based on legislation. PWDs are therefore forced to play alone or with an adult, both inside and outside the playground, which can negatively affect their psychosomatic development. This thesis aims to design an inclusive model playground, which all children will be able to access, use all play equipment and play together. In particular, the concepts of "inclusion" and "disability" will be explored determining this way the criteria of inclusive design in playgrounds. Playground equipment that will meet the needs of people with disabilities based on the above criteria will be proposed. Finally, a new model inclusive playground will be presented, the design of which will be adapted to the natural landscape, with environmentally friendly materials, in order to achieve inclusiveness with a view to sustainable development and environmental protection.