By Dr Fatemeh Aminpour.

Public open spaces are not designed and operated to be shared with schools, according to our recent study. Nevertheless, school overcrowding forces schools to use their local open space. This is to compensate for the inadequate space in their on-site outdoor environments which is a major barrier to children's play and outdoor activities in their school environments.

Rapid urbanisation and development density pressurise the public realm, resulting in ‘contested spaces’ with a plethora of competing interests. Our study shows that public spaces can still be designed and managed to benefit urban schools which themselves suffer from cramped situations.

The study shows that students appreciate having access to extra space outside their school with more natural environments and to run around and play sports, particularly when their own school playground feels very small with far too many people they bump into, where they are almost forced to sit down. Access to the local open space also enable students to experience a different environment with their school friends and a change of scenery.

Involving both key stakeholders and school students aged 8-12, we highlighted the prime factors that need to be considered in the design and planning of open spaces to encourage their shared use.

Schools need to have an easy way to the neighbourhood open space

When it comes to using a local open space for lunch breaks, schools prioritise proximity. Primary school students find it difficult to walk long distances.

Even for schools at a walkable distance from public open space, heavy traffic and multiple road crossings can deter use. Traffic hazards can force schools to allocate additional staff to supervise students or to entirely rule out active travel, opting instead for shuttle buses or public transport. A landscape architect who participated in our study pointed out:  

When we're planning new schools in new suburbs that we need to think about these corridors in advance because there's a lot of connectivity that's missing in the established schools and parks spaces … our current infrastructure doesn't work in that direction.

Students have to cross multiple roads to access the neighbouring public space. Image credit: Fatemeh Aminpour.

Design and operation of public spaces that benefit school recess activities

To facilitate their use by school age students, open spaces need certain design features, amenities and play opportunities. Unfortunately, toilet blocks, shade, litter bins, bubblers (i.e. drinking fountains), benches, sports fields and play equipment, are not always provided in otherwise potentially useful open spaces. On the other hand, council officers believed that schools created an ‘enormous amount of waste’ during lunchtime which became a problem for the council responsible for maintaining those spaces at a high standard for the community.

Councils that participated in our study argued that the increased demand imposed by schools shifts from local government to state government the onus of responsibility to manage this change. This transformation demands new forms of public space management, with an increased focus on stakeholder collaboration at both policy and operational levels in order to deliver quality services. The current shortage of funding for this purpose reflects policy-level shortcomings of state government and its response to the demands of a growing population. 

A public open space shared with a local school, but with limited amenities and a low-quality lawn. Image credit: Fatemeh Aminpour.

Schools willing to reciprocate the shared use

Schools, themselves, may help to strengthen their link to the community by opening their own grounds to the public, out of hours. When schools and their local councils co-share their facilities, arrangements for schools’ use of their neighbourhood open spaces can be ‘very hands-off’.

Being unable to ever access school facilities was perceived as ‘unfair’ by council officers participated in the study. From their perspective, some schools are a ‘no-go zone’, very hard to access, looking like prisons, and not really inviting community use.

While schools may welcome the idea of sharing their facilities with the community, maintaining their security could be a concern. To address this, schools need a line of demarcation in their campus planning to clearly identify the space and facilities open to the public. The Department of Education may need to redesign and reshape some of the schools’ outdoor resources, so they are publicly accessible.

A fresh take on school recess and public open space design

Even though well-located public parks provide possible scope for more students playspace, consideration of students’ preferences is essential in realising such potential. Schools and students need to be involved in the design, planning and upgrading of public open spaces to better serve their needs. This approach can also help minimise conflict and manage competing interests among park users.

Council planners can help by prioritising connectivity between schools and open spaces when urban corridors are being planned in new urban areas. This will make the journey to and from the local open space safer for students.

Schools can also frame the journey to the local park as an extended learning opportunity rather than viewing the trip as a waste of time. Students interviewed in our research suggested that the trip could be made more fun by offering play opportunities (such as an obstacle course) on the way to and from the neighbourhood open space.

Collaboration between schools, local councils and the state government is a necessity for joint use of their facilities. Consultations with schools and students can inform the design and operation of schools and open spaces which could be safe, accessible, inspiring and playful to both students and the wider community.