Creative management: a framework for designing multifunctional play biotopes - lessons from a Scandinavian landscape laboratory

Abstract

Most children grow up in urbanised settings with a low possibility to experience biodiversity and nature. However, experiencing nature and other species increases children's wellbeing, health, learning abilities and their understanding of nature values. Play biotopes is one solution for supporting a co-existence between children and different species in nature-based play settings. Play biotopes are based on ecological theories, where structures in the morphology of landscapes at different scales and the content of flora and fauna can support children's interplay with a part of the landscape. However, traditional landscape management is not adapted to support the dynamic nature of play biotopes, especially when considering multiple scales. This makes it interesting to explore more dynamic management concepts arching over multiple scales. Accordingly, we here explore creative management as a scale-based framework for design by management to further develop the concept of play biotopes. Using examples from a landscape laboratory in southern Sweden, we propose that a creative management framework combining the scales of landscape, biotope, place, and object together with play connectivity can support the creation and management of multifunctional play biotopes.

Keywords

Urban biodiversity; Children's environment; Temperate zone; Design by management; Multiple scales

Published in

Urban Ecosystems
2024, volume: 27, pages: 1599–1607
Publisher: SPRINGER

SLU Authors

• Wiström, Björn

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Mårtensson, Fredrika

  • Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ode Sang, Åsa

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Litsmark, Anna

  • Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Lund University

• Hedblom, Marcus

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Global goals (SDG)

SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
SDG15 Life on land

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology
Landscape Architecture

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01537-x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/129291