Sand for experimentation and trees as shelter, Barcelona and Ultrecht reinvent school playgrounds

The playground of the Cervantes School in the Ciutat Vella neighborhood in Barcelona has left the asphalt behind. Now there is soil with vegetation, trees, water points and natural play areas. It is one of more than thirty schools in Barcelona that have transformed their playgrounds thanks to programs such as Refugis Climàtics or Transformem els patis . A new study published in the journal European Planning Studies , led by Clara Jeanroy, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, and Arjen Buijs, a professor at Wageningen University and with the participation of CREAF, analyzes precisely these initiatives together with the case of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Both cities have proposed to go from gray to green in this recreational space with a dual objective: to create climate shelters and improve the well-being of students. Among the conclusions, the scientific team highlights that public funding is essential to guarantee equity between neighborhoods. It also points out that the voice of students must play an active role in this new design to respond to their needs and promote the care of nature.

"Playgrounds are one of the few places exclusively designed for children, but they have become obsolete for current climate conditions and new educational challenges. With this study we analyze two leading models to collect the best of each of them and also identify the challenges," highlights Corina Basnou , CREAF researcher, co-author of the Barcelona playgrounds to design the criteria and implement these measures.

Some of the common proposals to 'renaturalize' playgrounds include replacing asphalt with permeable soils, to reduce the heat island effect and facilitate rainwater infiltration, thus reducing the risk of flooding in heavily built-up areas, points out Basnou. Also planting various species of trees, shrubs and school gardens to provide shade and humidity, and, in the case of the garden, turning it into an 'outdoor classroom' to learn how to grow or make fertilizer with compost. In addition, some schools have also created natural play areas with logs or sand so that students can experiment directly with nature and develop their imagination. But there is more. Another solution, which has already been implemented in some schools in Utrecht, is miniature forests or Tiny Forests - a high density of trees and shrubs in a small space - which, despite being small, offer habitats for birds and insects, shelter in the summer from the heat and cleaner air free from pollution.

According to the team, the social benefits of this transformation go beyond schools, as some schools have also opened their playgrounds to the neighborhood outside of school hours to provide community climate shelters.

One of the critical points analyzed in the study is the financing model that each city uses to transform recreation. In the case of Utrecht, the money or resources come from small subsidies, NGOs and school communities that design and maintain their own playgrounds. According to the team, the positive point of this format is that educational communities are more actively involved from the beginning and very innovative ideas emerge. On the contrary, Barcelona is committed to public financing, that is, the schools in which to intervene are actively chosen, for example, those that have less access to green areas, and thus promote social justice, "the negative part is that the whole process is carried out in a more hierarchical way".

Both experiences have also involved children in defining the new playgrounds, although they have done so in different ways. In Barcelona, for example, it has been based on guides from the Institute of Childhood and Adolescence, which help children express their preferences through games and murals where they can draw how they imagine the playground, what they would like to include, “but after these initial sessions, they are left out and the implementation is left in the hands of technicians, so it is possible”. On the other hand, Utrecht has developed a decentralized model, where students are the protagonists throughout the process, which helps them take responsibility for the care of the space, explains Basnou. Examples of this more active participation are the celebration of rituals to pass seeds between generations or encouraging the students themselves to manage the garden.

"In general, what we see is that the two cities have lessons to exchange. For its part, Barcelona could involve educational communities throughout the process; in the case of Utrecht, it could adopt the public funding model, which reduces inequalities," explains Arjen Buijs, a professor at Wageningen University. Regarding common challenges, the team highlights the need to find more effective ways to involve children and rely more on their ability to understand and express themselves. Attention should also be paid to those with functional diversity to better respond to their needs, for example, the arrangement of the elements of a playground can influence how a girl with autism relates to her peers. Another challenge is convincing adults of the benefits of these changes: "some still perceive playing with mud as unhygienic or climbing trees as dangerous," adds the expert.

To carry out the study, a qualitative comparative methodology between Barcelona and Utrecht has been used, based on the analysis of official documents and interviews with key actors -municipalities, NGOs and school representatives- , and has been complemented by the monitoring of these processes. In terms of scope, in Barcelona, programs such as Climate Shelters (2019) have been analyzed, which transformed the playgrounds of 10 schools into neighborhoods with little green infrastructure, and the subsequent Transforming the Schoolyards , which in 2021 reached 12 centers and in 2022 added 17 more, today. In Utrecht, the research has focused on the playgrounds supported by the municipal subsidy Greening the Schoolyard , which finances the transformation of ten schools per year, together with initiatives promoted by NGOs such as IVN Natuureducatie and Jantje Beton .

The team also highlights that “a city that works for children works for everyone”, so governments that promote child participation strategies also open the door to the inclusion of other vulnerable groups. “However, to carry out this transformation they must integrate schools and the educational community into urban planning, promoting a dialogue with specialists such as pediatricians, biologists or architects”, concludes Basnou.

Reference article : Jeanroy, C., Rodela, R., Basnou, C., Venner, K., & Buijs, A. (2025). Including urban planning for and with children: planning green playgrounds in Barcelona and Utrecht. European Planning Studies , 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2025.2546938