Coverstory

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Fair city sharing - what can urban planning contribute?

Our cities have grown over centuries. This also reflects the history of urban society, i.e. who was in charge, which professions were accessible to whom. A city is a multi-layered structure:...

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Impulses for the inclusive design of areas for physical activity and encounter for children and young people in public spaces

Social interactions are essential at all stages of human development. From childhood to adolescence, newborns need protection, care and supportive interactions from their peers, while children ...

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Salzburg - the moving city

The moving city of Salzburg as a huge fitness park! Walking as a new hobby or exercising outdoors to strengthen muscles. If there is one positive thing, we have learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is the ...

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Tourism and leisure industry: Current trends and the importance of the family segment

Both tourism and the leisure industry are important economic sectors as well as indispensable partners in shaping individual lifestyles. In the coming years...

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On the way to sustainable and resilient urban development or how to achieve a transformation towards more openness and aesthetics

All over the world, cities and regions are currently facing comprehensive transformation processes: social and demographic change, climate change, scarcity of resources, digitisation and new technologies are ...

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The schoolyard as an exercise-oriented social space in all-day schools

The expansion of all-day schools has been an issue for quite some time now, and is currently becoming even more important against the backdrop of the introduction of a nationwide legal entitlement to full-day care for children of ...

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Water playgrounds, urban climate and more - Water playgrounds as an important element of climate adaptation

re we still allowed to plan with water in public spaces in times of heat and drought, in times when rivers have dried up and when there is even a shortage of drinking water in some places? Especially during this year's hot summer, this question has been asked frequently, particularly in connection with public water features. However...

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Hood Training: Social Work. Lifestyle. Movement.

Lack of perspectives for children and young people from developing neighbourhoods is unfortunately quite often the rule and endangers the future of many young people who are not satisfied with such a stagnation of personal development. Hood Training provides ...

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Familyfriendliness as a public attraction – Playgrounds in tourism, leisure parks and retail trade

Nowadays, playgrounds are considered an integral part of the design of public space. However, it is not only the municipalities that invest in attractive and modern playgrounds these days. Playgrounds have also become very important in other economic areas. Be it ...

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The Stuttgart Master Plan for Urban Physical Activity Spaces

With the "Stuttgart Master Plan for Urban Physical Activity Spaces ", the city administration aims to develop strategies to promote and secure physical activity in public spaces in the long term

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Physical activity, play and sports are indispensable components of holistic education and health promotion

Playground@Landscape regularly conducts interviews with politicians responsible for educational policy at the didacta trade fair. This year, the interview was held with Lower Saxony's Minister of Education Grant Hendrik Tonne.

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Inclusion in motion - People with and without disabilities together in games and sports

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Youth On-Demand Culture – A boost for Informal Sports

Smartphones and other possibilities of digitality have found their way into people's everyday lives as much as other terminal devices and are considerably changing leisure time in affluent countries. This also applies....

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EU plans to improve the climate and environmental protection. About what might apply in the future and would thus affect the construction and maintenance of playgrounds.

For quite some time the European Union has already been pursuing ambitious goals regarding sustainability, environmental and climate protection. In the past few years,...

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Heat Waves and Heavy Rainfall – What are the Impacts of Climate Change and Which Adaptation Measures are Appropriate?

The impacts of global climate change are already being felt. Carbon dioxide (CO2, a greenhouse gas that is a major cause of global warming) levels in the atmosphere are currently over a third higher than...

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Climate adaptation is a precautionary measure for our existence and future

Interview held by the trade magazine Playground@Landscape with Ursula Heinen-Esser, Minister for the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the Federal Land of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Climate, environment, sustainability: challenges regarding the construction and planning of play areas

For two thirds of the population, the consideration of environmental and climate protection is fundamental regarding future tasks and challenges. There is much support for more environmental and climate protection. So how is the industry of playground equipment and recreational facilities addressing these issues?

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Are playgrounds systemically relevant?

The importance of play and fitness spaces is indispensable for children's everyday lives.

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Public spaces - health-promoting and future-proof? Exercise and sports before the Covid-19 pandemic

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, two opposing trends in physical activity, exercise and sports could be identified:
The spectrum of individual sports-oriented activities...

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Discovering one's own potential through physical activity - An important developmental issue in the first years of life

To move means to progress – in a literal and figurative sense. From crawling to standing up, standing and walking - step by step, the child's range of motion expands and with it the space of experience. In the first years of life, movement ...

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Feeling comfortable and safe at home is feeling at home

Good, safe and affordable living space within a comfortable environment and functioning infrastructure is a decisive factor for quality of life. The following interview is held with Axel Gedaschko, President of GdW Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen e. V. (Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies).

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fit4future: Children on the move

Getting out of breath when jumping around in sacks, training your throwing arm when throwing cans and balancing yourself with the cup-stacking game "Stacking": What makes kids, teachers and parents at primary and special schools move? It is...

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Physical activity from childhood to old age

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 1 hour of physical activity every day. According to a study, however, more than 80 percent of all young people....

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Promoting health in the urban context

Sunny balconies, well-tended parks, clean air: the residential environment has an impact on people’s health. That is why urban planning and health promotion should go hand in hand.

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Cultural asset or consumer good? - The playground as a marketing instrument

Playgrounds are a destination of early excursions and thus important spaces of childhood which enable the children to establish their first relationship to the public. Their importance for children and families becomes especially clear in times of the Corona crisis, when...

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"Playing in a sea of grasses"

A playground for the Düsseldorf Nordpark.

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Inclusive schoolyards and playgrounds - A question of barrier-free accessibility and school development

The correlation between barrier-free accessibility and inclusion

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Inclusion - a fundamental right for all people of our society

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Streetmekkas set new standards for active leisure pursuits

Children and young people, particularly those who do not find their way to traditional sports facilities or clubs, are mad about street culture. Three Danish streetmekkas are showing....

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Save the play spaces – a plea for the preservation of play spaces in times of densification

Conditions for playing and exercise in the city are becoming increasingly worse.

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times of densification – playground planning in the narrowest of spaces!

Is there enough space available in our cities for green and play areas?

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Osnabrück Zoo: Climbing and sliding alongside lions, tigers & other creatures

Visitors can tell they are approaching the four playgrounds on the 23.5-hectare site of Osnabrück Zoo by the gleeful shrieks and the sounds of children's laughter. These imaginative playgrounds are every...

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Games and Sports in the village of Krumbach in Bregenz Forest

After about 15 years the central playground of Krumbach, a little village in Bregenz Forest, had become obsolete. Hence the playground was restructured in the context of a pilot project when the playground and open space concept was designed in autumn 2017.

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Making school playgrounds fit for purpose – problems and practical advice

In the 2018 issue 1 of Playground@Landscape, the topic of school playgrounds as exercise environments was extensively dealt with.

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Are we over-regulating our playgrounds? Are health and safety rules taking the play out of playgrounds?

Back in the early 1960s, there were rough estimates that something like 10 to 20 fatal accidents among children occurred in Germany annually on playgrounds or open spaces used for playing.

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Water-based fun and cooling-off for children of all age groups in Vienna

During the warmer days in Vienna, many parents and their children look for alternative ways to cool off that don't require them to visit a pool. Vienna's water playgrounds offer ideal venues at which to spend a playful afternoon in the refreshing chill of water. ...

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How do children grow up healthy?

The aim is that children should grow up healthy, and do not just sit in front of their game consoles. But, what actually belongs to growing up healthy and how could this aim be achieved?

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Grizzly Adventure - the new leisure environment

Discover the Grizzly Mountain! Experience a lot of water fun in the Grizzly Bay! Plunge into the depth with the Rocky Rafting!

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45 million euros for playing and physical activity

One project, 19 parks, 1,550 days of "alla hopp!" end up in the city of Mörlenbach. In September 2017, Mörlenbach celebrated the opening of its own alla hopp! play park which was the last one of a total of 19 parks that have been opened to the public in the metropolitan Rhine-Neckar region within the past 28 months.

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Ketteler Hof leisure park: 'Around the world through play' in the new indoor play centre

Germany's family-run Ketteler Hof leisure park, the grounds of which extend to nearly 30 acres, is sited between the urbanised area of the Ruhr district and the more rural province of Münsterland...

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The Fundorena indoor sports hall makes the Feldberger Hof hotel a tourist hotspot for family vacations

Physical activity in any weather

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Fantastic play options that provide the ideal destination for a family day out

For the past 6 years, the playground equipment manufacturer Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte has been collaborating with Karls Tourismus GmbH, their aim being to develop unique attractions for the Karls Erlebnisdörfer leisure park chain. This partnership has seen the creation of unique play landscapes based on inventive themes. This means a visit to one of the amusement parks becomes an unforgettable experience.

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Playgrounds are "must-haves" for the European Children's Hotel Group

The European Children's Hotel group consists of approximately 50 family-friendly hotels in Austria, Germany, Croatia, Italy and Portugal. Regardless of whether in the Alps, at the lakeside or at the sea, - all the hotels of the member companies are situated in paradisiacal and peaceful areas. Since its foundation in 1988, the European Children's Hotel group has established itself as a strong and highly competent brand and plays an important pioneer and trend-setter role in the child-friendly hotel business.

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Playground devices as a tourist attraction

The times are obviously long past when playground devices could only be found in municipal contexts. In the meantime many other operators outside the public sector discovered for themselves considerable potential in the market of playground devices and in giving...

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An international comparison of playgrounds

An insider's view of the play culture of other countries and a comparison with the market in Germany.

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From sport to sportivity: the right to exercise

In future, the priority won't be to break records but to develop a new day-to-day lifestyle - the new buzzword in this context is 'sportivity'. A survey undertaken by German's trend research body the Zukunftsinstitut provides insight into what the future will be like.

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The aspern+Seestadt Wien places emphasis on play

aspern - the Seestadt Wien: this 'lake town' project extending to over 590 acres that is being undertaken in the dynamic Aspern district of Vienna is one of the largest urban development programmes in Europe.

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Osnabrück Zoo: an expedition through the world of animals with four adventure playgrounds

Osnabrück Zoo is home to some 3700 animals, so every young visitor is assured of encountering their favourite while, at the same time, they can also skylark around and climb like monkeys as much as they want. This is because on its 23.5 hectare site, Osnabrück Zoo also offers four large adventure playgrounds.

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Sport in the open air: Fitness and exercise trail in Cologne green belt

Play and sport outdoors, fitness and multi-generational exercise are becoming increasingly more important. The leisure time value of public green areas is rising and demand is growing. Cologne has recognised this.

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Inclusion in public playgrounds

What exactly do we mean by inclusion? Plenty of people have heard the word. What is behind it? And what does inclusion mean for each of us personally? And what does it mean for the playground?

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Urban development for and with children and young people

Many of us would scarcely call the chaotic metropolitan Berlin of the 1920s described by Erich Kästner in his famous children's novel, "Emil and the Detectives", as a world fit for children to live in. Nonetheless, the protagonists of the novel, a group of children and youths, succeed in making precisely such urban space their own...

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“Pushing, pulling, jumping and balancing”

“Sport for anyone and at any time” is the underlying principle that has been implemented in Paderborn's biggest multifunctional sports centre.

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The role of physical activity in the prevention of disorders and the improvement of health

Exercise, play and sport are essential for the healthy overall development of children (see summary in Graf et al., 2014, Lees & Hopkins, 2013). These not only help with the acquirement of motor skills and abilities but also have specific effects on health (blood pressure, lipid levels, bone structure etc.), emotional, psychosocial and cognitive aspects.

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Cities and local authorities get their residents up and running – exercise trails in public areas

The Association of German Playground Equipment and Leisure Facility Manufacturers (BSFH - Bundesverband für Spielplatzgeräte- und Freizeitanlagen-Hersteller e.V.) is publishing a corresponding brochure in collaboration with the Association of German Cities and Local Authorities (Deutsche Städte- und Gemeindebund).

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Trend-setting at local government level: Rotterdam standard for outdoor play areas

Rotterdam aims to be an attractive city to live in, especially for families. Facilities for children and opportunities to play outside are a prerequisite for this. In the City Vision that Rotterdam established in 2007, one of the spearheads is more space for children to play and participate in sports in order to encourage them to get more exercise.

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Say no to playgrounds becoming building sites!

A number of authorities are removing children's play areas so they can sell the space on as building plots. These authorities should therefore also be removing the "family-friendly authority" concept from their brochures.

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Bruising OK – but not lacerations... (Part 2)

As a playground operator, how does one make sure that one doesn't unintentionally violate the regulations when selecting an external inspector? And how can operators ensure that they actually get the services that they have paid for?

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A modern city of sport – sports, exercise and play in Cologne

Cologne is a city that has a history reaching back 2000 years and a unique, in-imitable personality infused with a diversity and vitality manifested in many different ways in local business, culture and tourism and generally across a broad spectrum of its public life.

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Getting the city moving

Sport-Agenda Köln 2015 represents the first framework programme designed for the strategic promotion of sports in the city of Cologne.

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Activity trail or rollator parking spaces?

According to Media Control’s spring survey, 79% of Germans want to do outdoor sport. And: the number of older people is increasing rapidly the world over.

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Debt-free municipality – Bigger budget for playgrounds and sports grounds

The federal capital had celebrated its newly gained freedom from debt five years earlier in September 2007 with free beer and sausages for its citizens. Back then, the “debt clock” in the historic city hall stood at zero for the first time. Following Dresden, Düsseldorf was thus the second German city to be in the black.

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Landscape designers plan Kita (child care facility) playground

Their central targets are the construction of playgrounds for the under 3's, and improved training and quality of the carers.

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Playgrounds - when money is a problem

One of your first ports of calls might well be your bank, who will be happy to explain their various loan options to you. However, who can you consult if you need advice on how to obtain funding for playgrounds?

Individual loan agreements at optimal rates?

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More in the community funds?

The NRW local authorities are to receive circa € 8.7 billion from the state coffers in 2013.

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Sawn up and sprayed

We define vandalism as destructive fury or the strong desire to destroy. “We encounter modern vandalism in the form of shattered shop windows, slashed underground seats, punctured car tyres, torn-out phone cables or as graffiti.

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Child’s play makes you clever

They need to be exercise spaces that provide for free and unlimited physical activities and a wide range of play and game options. This is the conclusion of Prof. Dr. Renate Zimmer, who claims that “child’s play makes you clever”.

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Nature conquers the heart of the city

Lettuce and tomatoes growing on a former brewery site – more and more people living in inner-city environments are planting vegetables, fruits and flowers in courtyards, on balconies and in larger vacant brownfield areas.

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Give teenagers (green) play areas

This was a success with the outdoor space at Michaelshof in Hepsisau www.mh-zh.de close to Weilheim/unter Teck. The company KuKuk (in German: Kunst Kultur Konzeption (meaning Art Culture Conception)) from Stuttgart was responsible for the planning and implementation of the outdoor space. Starting with the initial discussion with those responsible for the provision of educational aids and a planning workshop with 19 school pupils from grades 7 and 8 to a five-day project week, the ideas and wishes of teenagers were taken seriously and these teenagers were given the right to voice their own opinions and were able to help out with the construction themselves.

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Green Oases in the city -

Green and city – to all appearances a contradiction. Yet there are and always have been areas to retreat to within the city; areas that give nature room to flourish and its users somewhere to relax.

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Green oasis and private paradise

Playground@Landscape: Turnover of the GaLaBau in 2011 has increased by nearly 500 million Euros. You have taken over the position from Hanns-Jürgen Redeker at a point when the association is doing well. What would you like to improve, change, initiate?
BGL-President August Forster: At the moment a positive general feeling exists throughout the whole "green" sector, which is very pleasing. The association for garden, landscape and sport facility construction (BGL) intends to make use of this mood in order to further develop the trade.

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Animals and wilderness: The Bat Forest Playground

Both in the Bohemian and in the Bavarian part of the Bavarian Forest, 22 locations worked together, representing another distinctive feature of the project. Consideration went into making visitors curious about the term “wilderness” and focussing on indigenous animals as popular figures as part of the tourism work. The municipality of Rinchnach selected the bat-plus-playground.

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Play area as a close-to-nature world of experience

The solution: Clear functional spaces, interlinking play sequences and designs using natural materials by the landscape architect Friedhelm Ebbinghaus with specially produced play equipment made of naturally knotty locust tree wood from Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte.

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Wanderlust – with a playground

“The world champion of travelling has sent out a message – give in to your desires and go on holiday, rather than be frustrated by the financial crisis,” was the prognosis delivered last year by the BAT foundation for future issues on the Federal Republic of Germany’s 2010 holiday season which had just ended.

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Playgrounds need committed volunteers

Many areas of public and social life would hardly exist anymore without volunteers. And without committed volunteers, some playgrounds would no longer be what they once were.

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Exercise in the school playground

First and foremost, they need space to play and exercise. Lack of exercise is the biggest problem facing our health care system. Obesity, motor weaknesses and an underdeveloped sense of balance in childhood are the consequences of lack of exercise.

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Pilot project within the framework of the Hessian sustainability strategy

On 1 June 2011, the Hessian State Government joined forces with the town of Hanau, the regional sports association, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt, Darmstadt College, as well as RheinMain College, as participating project partners, to open a fitness trail for senior citizens in the Hanau Palace Gardens.

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New Internet portal www.bigpublic.de

Whether well-kept and modern or more run-down and dilapidated – a town’s features can have positive or negative effects on people, images and economic development.

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Sparkling with a zest for life

On the area of the old Oberlaa Thermal Space centre, the new thermal spring - in addition to high quality spa facilities - will offer about 4,000 m² of water surface, 3,000 m² of sauna areas and a 6,000 m² area of comprehensive health facilities. And a water playground.

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Dancing with Giraffes

Recent trends in zoological gardens tend to reshape the animal compounds into impressive surroundings which provide an intensive experience through observation of the animals in their natural environments. With this new appearance, zoos intend to inspire visitors and make an impression on them in order to have a positive influence on their approach to animals.

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From the garden festival to Bürgerpark - subsequent use in practice

There were 61 participants: Heads of parks departments, senior employees from horticultural companies, associations for the promotion of State garden shows, planners and landscape gardeners accepted the invitation to the show to exchange news and views with their professional specialist colleagues. The programme included lectures on horticultural practice and constructive discussion seminars.

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Koblenz transformed - National Garden Show 2011

Playground@Landscape: Hello Mr. Faas, first question: Is the Koblenz National Garden Show 2011 “working”?

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The garden for movement and play

The world is conquered during play – the fascination lies in the playing. This motto has been taken by the new landscape play area in the Bleidenberg fortress on the exhibition site of the German Federal horticultural show in Koblenz.

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Climbing and discovery: The National Garden Festival as a play paradise for children and young people

Empress Augusta's "Jewel Box". Play in Empress Augusta's Jewel Box at the Electoral Palace. Between 1856 and 1858 Augusta von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, later to become the German Empress and Queen of Prussia, resided in the Koblenz Electoral Palace.

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Damming, squirting and diverting at Deutschen Eck

The "Water Experience" playground at the BUGA in Koblenz, Germany.

Designing a playground is always a challenge. There are so many regulations, standards and customer requirements involved that it is difficult to keep a clear overview. An additional aspect in Koblenz was the requirement for a maximum of accessibility for the disabled as well as safety from flooding, while focus was to remain on the play and experience value for children.

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The National Garden Festival (BUGA) as a play paradise for children and young people

The seamless safety surfacing required was supplied and installed by the German sport and leisure flooring manufacturer, BSW.

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Saving in the playground?

"Close your theatres, amalgamate register offices or complete towns!" was the provocative suggestion of Jürgen Büssow, the Düsseldorf District President to the hard-up Ruhr District communes in an interview in the daily newspaper WAZ.

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Bumps yes – cuts no!? The playground expert’s here

Over the last few years many playground operators have become aware of the risks of injury – notably from publicised reports of accidents which have occurred – and have provided corresponding training for those employees responsible for safety monitoring. Despite this, in many cases annual inspections are still tendered for and carried out by so-called “expert playground inspectors”, whose qualifications seem more than dubious. Often, this kind of inspection, carried out by unqualified personnel, leads to drawn-out discussions. But what qualifications are really required for “experts” on playgrounds and playground equipment?

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Test marks – and what is behind them

Today, when looking for safe or high-quality products, test marks awarded by neutral testing bodies act as guidelines and beacons of light in a sea awash with products. However, what exactly is behind the test marks? What do GS mark, CE marking and other marks actually stand for? And how are these marks interpreted correctly? These questions are answered by Berthold Tempel, laboratory director at TÜV Rheinland (Rhineland Technical Inspection Agency) and chairman of various playground safety standards committees.

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Co-management with playground construction

“Emergency call. Headquarters 112”: Children and teenagers came up with ideas.

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Griesheim – the first playable town in Germany

Children have retreated from public space as they have fewer and fewer opportunities for outdoor play. Children have gradually been deprived of their liberty without conviction.

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Active kids – clever kids: it’s the open space that matters

The “Bewegte Schule” (“School in motion”) also caters for the individual needs of pupils for exercise by offering a wide range of extracurricular activities. For as Prof. Renate Zimmer likes to point out: romping around makes children clever!

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Municipalities sound alarm - companies rally round

Local authorities in Germany frequently lack the resources to construct new playgrounds and to maintain those already in existence. Commercial enterprises have decided that they have a duty to provide help.

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Green spaces for the general public

Interview with Hanns-Jürgen Redeker, President of the German Association for Garden, Landscaping and Sport Facilities (Bundesverbandes Garten-, Land-schafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V., BGL) regarding the topic “Greenery”.

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Holidays during a crisis

The Foundation for Future Studies (Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen) presents the
26th German Tourism Analysis. Interview with Dr. Ulrich Reinhardt, Executive Board Member and Researcher, the Foundation for Future Studies – An initiative of British American Tobacco.