ABSTRACT
Play environments have undergone significant changes over the last decade. Evaluating play environment research requires an evaluation of the factors that are taken into consideration when creating the play environment. According to a culturalecological model, children’s play and play environments are influenced by a combination of distal factors like societal influences, opportunities to play and play settings and proximal factors like social networks and relationships (Whiting, 1980). For the purposes of this chapter, play environments, including materials, equipment and settings, are the physical elements of play along with the general societal rules that impact when and how play environments are created, used, or limited. An understanding of the physical elements and the societal aspects that impact play can give a clearer picture of the state of knowledge about play and play environments.
