Now Being Social: The Barrier of Designing Outdoor Play Spaces for Disabled Children

The design of outdoor public play spaces such that disabled children can make use of them is set in the three constructs of play, childhood and disability, drawing upon academic learning, international policy and national policy in England. The suggestion is made that one of the main barriers to the adequate provision of such spaces is that providers and designers do not know how to design such spaces. The paper explores the knowledge which is available to overcome this barrier and which might lead to the provision and design of appropriate outdoor play spaces that disabled children can more fully use. © 2012 The Author(s) Children & Society © 2012 National Children's Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited.