Children’s Playgrounds in Slovak Mass Housing Estates: History and Current Trends

Children’s playgrounds represent an important amenity in the concepts of mass housing, The study chapter presents the unique concepts of children’s playgrounds that have been applied in the Slovak mass housing estates of the second half of the twentieth century, designed by architects and artist, and inspired by the best European experiences, for example, by the landscape design of the Stockholm School. The early inhabitants of the Slovak mass housing estates were predominantly young families with children. The residential aging of this homogenous social structure caused that during the lifespan of housing estates, the demand for playgrounds decreased, they became underused and fell into decay. Today, the social structure of mass housing estates becomes more heterogeneous, what puts new requirements on the design of open public spaces and, as well as, on the regeneration and design of children’s playgrounds, to serve the rising demands of the inhabitants and to enhance the livability of the housing estates. The study examines the current examples of the children’s playgrounds from Slovak mass housing estates, which show that nowadays the typified design of the standardized catalog type elements is used and preferred