Play – PLACE Research Lab

What is the relationship between play and lifelong well-being?

Play, and unstructured play in particular, builds a strong foundation for lifelong learning and healthy development. Our work in this area focuses on assessing play environments, understanding child, parental, and staff perceptions of play, and exploring facilitators and barriers to play in different settings. We also examine the links between different play types and physical activity.

Fit to be Canadian? The Recreation Industrial Complex in Canada

IN RECENT YEARS, recreation professionals have been suggested their profession needs to return to its historical roots of providing recreation facilities and opportunities for the so-called [...]

Evaluation of Innovative Preschool Play Spaces

Why is play in early childhood important? Early childhood free play experiences can influence a child’s developmental, mental and physical health, impacting them for the rest of their [...]

Family Access to Municipal Infrastructure for Leisure: Young children (FAMILY)

What factors affect use and access to community recreation facilities and outdoor spaces among families? Our Strathcona County: Recreation, Parks and Culture department partners wondered just [...]

Understanding Unstructured Play in Rural Communities

How do children, youth and families in rural communities participate in free play? To explore this question, we used photovoice (pictures and story-telling) with community members from the [...]

Understanding Older Adults Use of Greenspaces in Taipei, Taiwan

To better understand the health impacts of greenspaces, we engaged older adults in Taipei, Taiwan to understand their use of those spaces. Through interviews and observations, we found that [...]

What is the relationship between play and lifelong well-being?

Fit to be Canadian? The Recreation Industrial Complex in Canada

Evaluation of Innovative Preschool Play Spaces

Family Access to Municipal Infrastructure for Leisure: Young children (FAMILY)

Understanding Unstructured Play in Rural Communities

Understanding Older Adults Use of Greenspaces in Taipei, Taiwan

Collaborative Projects and Publications

Collaborative Projects (Selected)

Collaborative Publications (Selected)