Jansson, Märit
- Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Environmental child-friendliness is affected by how built environments and green spaces are planned and designed, but also by their ongoing management, including both development and maintenance. This study examined children’s perspectives on their local environments with focus on green spaces and their management in an urban village. Five groups totalling 16 children aged 10–11 were interviewed through child-led walks. Both the qualities of the village as a whole and of specific places within it added to the child-friendliness of the local environment. The children showed planned and managed spaces including playgrounds and parks, and unmanaged places such as abandoned gardens. They found many qualities in multifunctional planned places with a varied, rich content. In unmanaged areas the lack of management was seen as positive for exploration, play possibilities and for the place to be children’s own. The findings suggest that children’s perspectives can play an important role not only in planning and design, but also in the ongoing process of landscape management, including the provision of more variation in local green spaces.
Keywords
Children's perspectives; Child-friendly environments; Green space management; Landscape management; Landscape planning; Urban green space
Published in
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
2016, volume: 18, pages: 228-236
SLU Authors
Pritzel Sundevall, Elin
Wales, Mark
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Global goals (SDG)
SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
UKÄ Subject classification
Landscape Architecture
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.06.014
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/76853