No play for you: playground razed.

• Author: Skenazy, Lenore
• Position: Citings - Destruction of playground for special needs children - Brief article

THE CHILDREN'S PlayGarden in Seattle describes itself as a "welcoming place where children with special needs can play along side their typically developing siblings and friends." But even though no child had ever received significant injuries during its 10-year history, the playground in 2014 was declared "hazardous by the city's Parks Department and ordered it to be destroyed. Among the "extreme dangers": a four-foot rope ladder, a tire swing, and a "nest" made of rope and bike tires.

As Liz Bullard, who helped design the space, wrote in a blog post: "These simple play features may seem ordinary, but ... here children with cerebral palsy, autism and developmental delays are encouraged and...