Evaluation of children playgrounds in Düzce by users in primary education and determination of design principles

The play has a very important place in child development. Children want to play anywhere at any time of the day, like a machine that is inherently programmed to play. Together with urbanization, nowadays children's play opportunities in open spaces are gradually decreasing. Previous studies have shown that games played in open spaces contribute to the development of the child. Children playgrounds are mainly outdoor areas where children play. Planning and design of children's playgrounds are important to contribute to the development of children. Children's playgrounds should be designed to respond to the needs of the users and in accordance with the design principles. A good understanding of children's play desires and needs is a necessity. This study have been done to determine the social behaviour of children during play, play preferences and design principles of children's playground. In this study, literature studies related to child development, play, the effect of play on child development, children playgrounds and design principles of playgrounds are examined. In this study, children playgrounds in the "Kalıcı Konutlar" region located within the boundaries of the Central district of Düzce province and Cumhuriyet Primary School students were selected as examples for the evaluation of children playgrounds within the study area. The current conditions of the children's playgrounds in the study area were determined as a result of field studies and visual determinations and the children's playgrounds were evaluated according to the design principles. A survey study was conducted to determine the play types, social behaviours and lesson success of the students of Cumhuriyet Primary School and analyzed in SPSS program. As a result of the evaluation of the current conditions of the children's playgrounds in the study area according to the design principles of the children's playgrounds, it was determined that there were deficiencies. As a result of the analysis of the data of primary school students, play equipments in children's playgrounds are preferred more by first-year students. It was determined that the students in the other classes preferred more group games and the group games more contributed positively to the social characteristics of the students. Suggestions were made according to the results of the evaluation in terms of design principles of children's playgrounds, elementary school students and children's playgrounds within the area.