Column | The evolution of playscapes and the creativity crisis

Play was the foundation of social existence in egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies. Through play, their children absorbed the knowledge, skills, and values of their culture. They also encouraged play to counter tendencies toward dominance and disputes. The coming-of-age rituals of various indigenous tribes around the world continue to reflect the love of playfulness. Many irrational aspects of modern human behaviour may be due to the human brain being adapted to life on the African Savannah millions of years ago, and not evolving sufficiently to deal with the modern world, which is relatively new in evolutionary terms.

Over millions of years of natural selection, curiosity and the desire to play have driven self-directed learning, allowing us to exploit nature to satisfy both our need and our greed. The urge to play would have been lost or never evolved if the benefits did not outweigh the risks.

Play for practice: Curiosity, risky play and sociability

The pressures of natural selection exist even during childhood because reproduction, the primary goal of all species, necessitates healthy growth and survival. Playing may be an adaptation that increases the chances of survival.

Children acquire knowledge through their natural curiosity and build skills through play. Play and curiosity are inextricably linked to sociability. It gives them the opportunity to practice dealing with difficult real-life situations and developing age-appropriate skills. Through social play, children learn to manage their emotions, collaborate, and even experiment with moral principles. Curiosity, risky play, and sociability evolved to ensure that generational knowledge and skills are passed along to future generations. Children develop normal adaptive fear to protect themselves from threats, and then engage in risky play to desensitise themselves to those threats. Their natural drive for risky play allows them to investigate the possibilities and constraints of their surroundings. When adult guardianship is eventually removed, this supports survival.

Prior to the 1900s, the wilderness, the streets, and vacant lots served as children's play areas. In the twentieth century, playgrounds with play equipment such as slides, swings and jungle gyms were built to satisfy children's appetite for risky play. Tall jungle gyms have fallen out of favour in recent decades due to being deemed too dangerous. The constrained play spaces of today, particularly ultra-safe soft play zones, do not allow for adequate risky play and may even be detrimental to children's emotional development. Our collective fear of minor injuries to children may result in children who are excessively risk-averse and more likely to develop psychopathology. Childhood fears could persist long after a child's physical and psychological abilities have improved enough to make them manageable. Given that anxiety and trauma caused by a broken mind can be more severe and persistent than anxiety and pain caused by a fractured bone, playgrounds should ideally be able to strike a balance between safety and opportunities for risky play.

When play is mostly unrestricted, curiosity, risky play, and sociability propel learning; when play is restricted, these innate impulses become suppressed. However, unrestricted play is discouraged in society because it is incompatible with neoliberal educational policies aimed at corporate profit. Instead of engaging in imaginative play, children participate in structured, adult-directed activities. Furthermore, online education has exacerbated existing dehumanizing practices in children's education. It is disconcerting that the current educational system, which was developed to meet the requirements of the industrial revolution, has not undergone fundamental reforms to meet the requirements of the post-industrial era. Despite efforts by society to make children's play spaces safer, risky play among children has persisted.

If children are to benefit from the natural adaptive fear alleviation and anti-phobic effects of risky play, communities must provide areas for them to play in stimulating yet safe environments. The potential risks of risky play are not always perceived by the children. Hence, it is best to provide opportunities for minimally moderated risky play rather than allowing children to seek these opportunities on their own.

What children want

Early humans favoured landscapes that satisfied their requirements for safety as well as opportunities to improve their chances of survival. Expansive views and conspicuous sites for easily accessible shelter, such as climbable trees with lush canopies, caves, as well as the presence of water bodies, edible plants, and prey, were preferred. These preferences for particular landscapes have persisted in modern humans.

In a number of indigenous cultures and rural communities around the world, children engage in locomotor play in natural settings. Independent explorations give them the thrill of potentially getting lost, which alleviates some of the separation anxiety they may experience when venturing out alone. Climbing is the most popular high-risk activity among children; they practice their motor skills by balancing on small boulders, jumping off slopes, and dangling from trees. It allows them to explore the attributes, possibilities, and constraints of their surroundings. They gain knowledge of spatial orientation as well as how to perceive movement, depth, and form. Such exploratory acrobatic activities provide immediate benefits in childhood and deferred benefits in adulthood.

Our early ancestors preferred places where they could see but not be seen in order to assess danger and respond quickly if it arose. This might be why children have a penchant for play tents, alcoves in gardens and tree houses. It might also be to satisfy their primal mammalian desire for territoriality. Spatial design may be informed by children's preferences for landscapes, and learning and play environments, to enhance their interactions with one another and nature. Whether it be a schoolyard, a public park, or a pocket park on the street, children should be allowed the freedom to be curious, playful, and sociable in their playscape.

From cognitive crisis to creativity, competency and confidence

An ideal playscape includes natural landscape elements that will intrigue and fascinate children, as well as challenge and thrill them. Children require stimulating environments that are safe, if they are to profit from the natural adaptive fear alleviation and the anti-phobic effects of risky play.

A resilient society can only be built by providing diverse opportunities for children to become more creative, competent, and confident. Curiosity-driven risky play in social settings is therefore crucial for ensuring resilient futures.

(Ann Rochyne Thomas is a bio-climatic spatial planner and founder of the Centre for Climate Resilience - a sustainability and climate change advisory.)