Building Networks, Producing Spaces for Play: Local Geographies and National Organizing in the History of Adventure Playgrounds in the United States, 1949-1999

Author

Reilly B. Wilson, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Psychology

Advisor

Roger Hart

Advisor

Cindi Katz

Committee Members

Marta Gutman

Rickie Sanders

Meghan Talarowski

Subject Categories

American Material Culture | Human Geography | Other Psychology | Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration | Social History | Urban Studies | Urban Studies and Planning

Keywords

adventure playground, playground, play, park, child, childhood

Abstract

This dissertation provides an historical analysis of repurposed material adventure playgrounds in the United States between 1949 and 1999. Three microhistories of adventure playgrounds (The Yard, in Minneapolis, M.N., and several playgrounds in New York City, N.Y., and Houston, T.X.) are framed against the wider socio-economic changes that shaped more than thirty-five adventure playgrounds in the United States over the period of study. By focusing on the relationships mobilized by adventure playground advocates at different scales and across different points of view, and how these networks shaped the local production of spaces for play, this dissertation's method underlines the importance of attending to local geographies when grappling with questions about what sorts of spaces are possible. This study argues that the history of U.S. adventure playgrounds provides useful lessons for contemporary play advocates seeking to create these types of play environments today.

Recommended Citation

Wilson, Reilly B., "Building Networks, Producing Spaces for Play: Local Geographies and National Organizing in the History of Adventure Playgrounds in the United States, 1949-1999" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5954