American Playgrounds - Hardcover

Solomon, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1584655178 ISBN 13: 9781584655176

Publisher: University Press of New England, 2005

Synopsis

Unusual book

About this title

Review:

San Francisco Chronicle"

Landscape Architecture"

Children, Youth and Environments"

ArchitectureInk.com"

A passionate argument . . . Solomon's work provides a welcome discourse. Her clear-headed attack on the playground as a low-risk plastic pavilion is a message for patrons and politicians. Children, Youth and Environments"

an insightful new book that explores the degradation of playground design in the past generation San Francisco Chronicle"

As difficult at this task may be, Solomon is powerfully optimistic that the current tide in American playground design will usher in a new age where local politicians, communities, and individuals will develop unique playgrounds to provide solutions to their particular problems. Because she argues for individual design solutions to individual community problems and challenges, her book does not provide a simple recipe for success; it shows something much more important. Solomon shows for the first time how American playgrounds came to be the way they are. She shows convincingly that a trend has begun; and her book details the tools to be used and the challenges that must be overcome for American playgrounds to, once again, become extraordinary catalysts of cultural and social exchange that can shape American lives for the better. R. D. Kushner, Editor in Chief, ArchitectureInk.com"

Susan Solomon uses her knowledge in these areas to answer these questions and add a valuable historical layer to the existing literature on playground design. Refreshingly she investigates the aesthetic contribution of urban playgrounds designed collaboratively by architects, landscape architects, industrial designers and sculptors" that is both an "informative and fascinating chronological review. Landscape Architecture"

"Solomon's book exemplifies the design-oriented perspective, in which child-centered buildings are studied for their unique historical role in the emergence of modernism."--Journal of Society of Architectual Historians

"A compelling history, a manifesto, and a manual for change . . . Readers will be inspired and equipped to take up the gauntlet of advocacy for superior American playgrounds. Accessibly written, American Playgrounds will fascinate diverse constituencies, including parents, educators, policymakers, and art, architectural, and cultural historians. For those commissioning, funding, designing, and overseeing playgrounds, it will be indispensable."--Zvab.com

From the Publisher:

SUSAN SOLOMON, a playground historian, is the author of “The Science of Play: How to Build Playgrounds that Enhance Children’s Development” (forthcoming, UPNE) and American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space (UPNE).

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of New England
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1584655178
• ISBN 13: 9781584655176
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 276