The disappearance of swings...
One of the things that has almost disappeared from playgrounds it seems - I never see them any more - are the small roundabouts - which makes that old demonstration of the coriolis effect rather difficult.
"Repeated lockdowns have exacerbated a situation in which kids’ play areas were becoming an afterthought for local authorities, and UK cities already struggle with providing equal access to green spaces. And with public budgets about to become more squeezed, the future for swing sets does not look bright.
The article finishes with a quote from Tim Gill:
“This idea that we don’t really need to worry about kids being stuck indoors because they’ve got screens and they’re very happy on Snapchat or whatever, that’s been blown out of the water [by the pandemic],” he says.A renewed focus on the needs of children, who have sacrificed a year of opportunity for socialising, education and development, may change that. “Maybe the pandemic will be the catalyst for a reappraisal of that as part of a wider recognition of the importance of public space, public life and social contact and all of that,” says Gill. “We shall see.”
Image by Danny Nicholson, shared under CC license on Flickr
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