Play and the Built Environment

Play is fundamental to children’s (and everyone’s) well-being and development. Play matters. Human beings are born hard-wired to play: it is how we learn about the complex world around us and is how we form connections between where we live and the people that surround us. Play is how we learn, it’s how we manage our mood and emotions, it’s how we develop physical skills and understand (and stretch) our limits. Through play we take risks and challenge ourselves. It is crucial to who we are and who we will become – right from the day we are born and throughout adulthood. Above all, play is pleasure – it is at the centre of what makes life fun and what brings us happiness.