Playgrounds!

[l225]

Playgrounds!

A question for players and NIA!
What are the general guidelines that apply to playgrounds?
According to the criteria specified by Wayfarer, a place with the possibility of A great place for exercise is considered a great place
A place you’d go to get some fresh air, stretch your legs, or exercise. Places that encourage walking, exercising, and enjoying public spaces. Or something that teaches or encourages us to be our healthiest selves.

Recently, players (both Pokemon go and Ingress) have been massively claiming Wayspot, which fits the category Exercise equipment in public spaces (playgrounds), however there is no consensus among players as to what is considered Exercise equipment in public spaces.
For example, can a lonely tributary bar near a public building be considered a playground? Can a single sandbox be considered a full-fledged playground?

The only thing that is clear is that the playgrounds must be applied for as a whole, it is not acceptable if individual elements of the playgrounds are applied for.
In essence, the goal is to get to know and visit new places, not to apply for another low-quality portal, which is not a playground by nature, but a separate element of the playground, equivalent to a basketball hoop near a tree or an overgrown and unused field.

What is the overall position of the NIA?
Suggest to the NIA to supplement the evaluation criteria by more clearly defining what is meant by playgrounds.

For example:

[MegaTrainerRed]

Hello! Personally I love playground reviews. Usually they are easy to review and, I don’t know, for me they are like one of the most typical wayspots in the map.
Hoewever I don’t consider a playground fits into Exercise criteria, for me it fits more in Socialize criteria. People don’t go to a playground to exercise, they go to socialize with other people.
Sometimes there are some areas where they don’t have a full playground but they have a single swing or a single toboggan. For me that counts as a playground. Obviously if there are other elements next to the submission I would submit the full playground and I would reject the separate elements.
Looking at your examples I would have problems with two of them

This is just a sandbox, I know they are pretty common in Eastern Europe as a separate element and can be seen alone in an area. Maybe I could give them as they are the only place where the children can go to play. I usually see them while reviewing with plastic toys that I think they are there for everybody to play.

With this one I will have doubts and probably I would reject it. It looks like a carpet beater, that is pretty common in Easter Europe too. A lot of people submit them as a playground element but their function is completely different.

To finish, I would recomment you the Criteria Clarification that was made some months ago around some specific themes. You can find it at Criteria Clarification Collection and the one for playgrounds is this one: Playgrounds

[l225]

Personally, I’m not against playgrounds, as long as they are essentially playgrounds. I agree that it is common in Eastern Europe, although more and more countries invest in the creation of new playgrounds, but do not dismantle the existing outdated and dangerous ones, and even though it seems that a swing or a gymnastic bar is safe, it is actually dangerous and I do not let my children play there

Thanks for you advice and clarification.

[Xenopus]

Hi! Thanks for your criteria question, it’s a pretty debated one as playgrounds are really a very common type of submission I doubt Niantic is going to provide further clarification at this stage but indeed you can find the latest on the subject in the post @MegaTrainerRed linked, with examples that resemble the objects you show.

To echo some of the points he made above, personally I have seen good arguments for playgrounds meeting all three criteria (not necessarily at the same time).

Parents take their children to the playground to spend their energy and play, therefore, same argument as an outdoor fitness station for adults, it’s a great place to exercise (for children).

You could also take this from a slightly more general perspective (after all, it is extremely unlikely that anyone submitting or reviewing is also the one directly climbing and playing at the playground) and observe that this is where families are likely to meet, make new friends (between children and between parents, possibly), which makes it a very good place to socialize.

Which segues into the third criterion, which is usually less obvious to newer submitters (often I have conversations that go like “but there is no exploration in a mural or a restaurant”), but the question for it on the review page is framed in a pretty clear way: “Do you think this location is significant to the local community?” and I would argue that yes, absolutely, most public playgrounds are focal points of their neighborhoods. They help families with providing an activity for children and with creating connections in their neighborhood, and fostering connections is one of the best ways to explore your area, imo.

Ultimately, I think, the third one is the most powerful one. In my perspective it’s important to keep in mind that the most unassuming playground can be pretty crucial for a community that otherwise doesn’t have many children-focused amenities.

(Standard disclaimer that the above is not a reason to misrepresent things that are not playgrounds as playgrounds, to accept playgrounds that are on land that makes them otherwise ineligible, or to nominate multiple play equipments on the same playground. And to touch on another thing you mentioned, as a reviewer and a local, it’s obviously up to you to judge the safety and state of a deteriorating playground (use your best judgement type of situation). This is why we have both eligibility criteria and rejection criteria )