Güneş Tıgen, MeltemÖzyavuz, Murat2024-10-292024-10-292021978-363185437-2978-363183922-5https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11776/12672Children develop their cognitive, physical and social skills through play. Every child has the right to play. Designing open spaces where all children with or without disabilities in all spheres of life can play together under equal conditions forms the basis of the universal design (UD) concept. UD is a concept that goes beyond the accessibility issues of the built environment. According to the understanding of UD, all built environments should be accessible to everyone regardless of age, gender, socio-cultural factors, economic status and disability. In attempts to correct conceptual confusion, the present study first examined such design approaches as “universal design”, “design for all”, “inclusive design”, “barrier-free design”, “accessible design”, which are frequently encountered in the literature and are used interchangeably as well as playing a major role in planning and design of more accessible cities and having similar or different meanings. Subsequently, we addressed the UD criteria, which are critically important for building an accessible playground for everyone, serving people without any type of discrimination and enhancing their development. To this end, this study aimed to raise awareness in our country by examining sample playgrounds designed in accordance with UD criteria in the world. These sample playgrounds reveals the importance of the universally designed playground thanks to its success in providing a more useful playground for children with disabilities. This can serve as an inspiration to build similar playgrounds in our country. This study highlighted the necessity of widespread playgrounds designed for everyone, and where all children with or without disabilities, regardless of their age, gender and social status, can not only play in accordance with standards and regulations but also can have equal rights to play. As a result, it is possible to build children’s playgrounds in accordance with the principles of UD, which adopts an inclusive/ socialization mission for the future of our children. Thus, environments with play value that provide benefits not only for children with disabilities but for every child regardless of ability can be created. UD should be considered as a design approach that supports and encourages new developments in children’s playgrounds, which is a significant public place at the same time. © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 2021 All rights reserved.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessAccessibilityAccessible designBarrierfree designDesign for allInclusive designPlaygroundsUniversal designBook Chapter8198382-s2.0-85179257772