For now, it is still difficult to guess the tremendous accessibility that its promoters want to praise. Still under construction, the Landry park playground will nevertheless become one of Rennes’ references in terms of inclusion. At the request of residents, the municipality looked into the question of the accessibility of its spaces for children. Not only for people with disabilities but for all children who can frequent these places of social connection. “We do not want to create a guide that imposes a single construction method but rather question the best way to play together,” explains Mayor Nathalie Appéré.
In the Breton capital, three inclusive play areas will be delivered this year and will follow the new benchmark established by the city in consultation with associations, parents and children. It was Barbara, a mother of grown-up children working in the disability field, who proposed this project as part of a participatory budget. “I saw that it existed in Vannes and I found the idea interesting to welcome all audiences. Our city lacked that. »
“We feel enveloped without being enclosed”
At first glance, the changes are not obvious. It’s in the details that real innovations are hidden. Toilets right next door, dedicated parking… At Landry, the space is both open but remains surrounded by vegetation. “We feel enveloped without being enclosed,” explains the agent in charge of the Landry site. Here, a rope has been removed from a turnstile, allowing a child in a wheelchair to sit there, if they are able.
The floors have also been adapted to facilitate access without covering everything with damping resin. There, a silver half-sphere was placed. “Some will climb it, others will touch it, hit it,” justifies the municipality. “The objective is that everyone benefits,” explains Jean-François Monnier, elected ecologist responsible for disability.
In this space, widely used by families, outdoor musical games and others that stimulate the senses are also tested. Concern ? The catalog of manufacturers remains limited for the moment even if “their models have evolved”, assures the elected city delegate for child-size Lucile Koch. So the city’s technical services are innovating, testing natural pathways or “homemade” sensory spaces. Here, colorful flowers will be sown, there very fragrant shrubs will be planted.
Hide, run, rest…
To make room for these new facilities, some structures were removed. The goal is not to sanitize or flatten everything but to open the space to everyone. “We removed a cobweb because there were already a lot of climbing games. A playground shouldn’t just be for letting off steam. You also need to be able to land in quieter areas. Here children can walk, run, climb, hide. It’s the same thinking as in our schoolyards,” assures elected environmentalist Lucile Koch. By the end of the year, three areas will be inaugurated. The framework should also apply to each renovation undertaken in Rennes.