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Revisiting the playground: Charles Wicksteed, play equipment and public spaces for children in early twentieth-century Britain

Winder, Jon (2023) Revisiting the playground: Charles Wicksteed, play equipment and public spaces for children in early twentieth-century Britain. Urban History, 50 (1). pp. 134-151. ISSN 0963-9268. E-ISSN 1469-8706. (doi:10.1017/S0963926821000687) (KAR id:91449)

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Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963926821000687

Abstract

This article offers the first detailed history of the children's playground in Britain in the early twentieth century. Despite being a common feature of towns and cities, the playground has rarely been examined by historians. In response, the article charts how changing conceptions of childhood, alternative visions of the city, technological innovation and shifting ideas about health and exercise shaped both the imagined function and material form of the playground ideal. Making visible the historical assumptions hidden in playground swings and slides helps to contextualize both existing scholarship on the mid-twentieth-century adventure playground and present-day efforts to create more equitable urban environments.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1017/S0963926821000687
Uncontrolled keywords: play equipment, playgrounds
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D203 Modern History, 1453-
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Women > HQ767.9 Children. Child developement
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User: Jon Winder
Date Deposited: 09 Nov 2021 16:44 UTC
Last Modified: 30 Jan 2023 13:53 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/91449 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)
Winder, Jon: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4868-5208
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