Investigation of The Availability of Children's Playgrounds By Disabled Children In Line With The Universal Design Principles: Van City Example

Abstract

Games are indispensable in children's lives. Playgrounds are also important for disabled individuals, who are a part of our lives, to hold on to life, socialize and develop. It should be ensured that disabled children can play without any disability without any help. During the planning and design of children's playgrounds, children's age, physical characteristics and abilities should be taken into consideration and parks should be designed in line with universal design principles and standards. In this study, in line with the universal design principles and standards of disabled children's playgrounds, the suitability of children's playgrounds in the province of Van for children with disabilities was examined. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the existing parks in Van province, which were examined according to universal design principles, are not highly suitable for the use of disabled children. For this reason, a standard regarding the suitability of children's playgrounds for the disabled should be determined in the legal legislation, and local administrations can cooperate with the University, Ministry of Education and Rehabilitation Centers in order to increase the accessibility of the disabled individuals to the parks. In this study, suggestions for an accessible and usable children's playground are presented.