Research shows children's play is crucial for mental health and development, but urban design and environmental factors increasingly limit access to play spaces in cities.

The Conversation

Decades of research in child development confirms that young children’s play is linked to positive outcomes in mental health, cognitive and social development as well as fewer behavioural problems.
Despite this consensus, play is becoming hard to access in everyday life, particularly in cities, due to a combination of spatial or environmental and socio-cultural factors.  
Increased traffic, dense housing, limited or constrained access to green space and natural environments and heightened concer