Universal Design in Playground Environments

Kenneth Hurst is an assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M Univeristy. He applies behavior mapping research to evaluate evidence‐based support for the contributions that individual park elements and accessible design make toward levels of use and physical activity in urban park environments. He has spent much of his career in facility planning, park and playground development, promoting play, playground safety, and accessibility. He has spoken at the local, state, national, and international levels and currently serves on the ASLA Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN. He is also active in park and playground development.

Chanam Lee is a professor of landscape architecture and urban planning and director of Design Research for Active Living at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on linking the built environment with public health outcomes. She has (co‐)led 30 projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Science Foundation, and others, totaling ∼$16 million. Dr. Lee is among the most cited landscape architecture scholars, with over 100 peer‐reviewed publications. Her work has been recognized by multiple awards from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the American Planning Association‐International Division, among others.

Forster Ndubisi, professor and former head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University and senior fellow with the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, has focused in his teaching, research, and practice on ecologically oriented design and planning, community planning and design, growth management, and sustainable regionalism. He has authored three books, including the award‐winning Ecological Planning: A Historical and Comparative Account (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). He is a past president of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture and former vice president for research and information for the Landscape Architecture Foundation.