Near us there's nice, challenging playgrounds, but their designs have become homogeneous. The older playgrounds had more unique features to each, with custom molded fiberglass.
I don't mind some playgrounds drifting to other materials, but the wood ones also have something to offer. I worry they're slowly being replaced by the same sorts of hdpe and brightly painted metal structures that are everywhere else. They're nice but all start to seem the same after awhile.
It's sort of like if houses all got torn down after 30 years and were all replaced with variants of the same template, rather than preserving older structures or encouraging innovative architecture.
Kids have as much to learn from variety as they do risk.
I’m sure the insurance companies have actual data and actuarial tables for what results in lawsuit damages. If a city wants to have those items in a playground, fine, but it isn’t going to be insurable.
As a kid I always was much more interested in running around in the woods or climbing trees than playgrounds. Which, insurance still can’t force the removal of as far as I know.