CHARACTERISTICS OF STREETS FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY : Analysis of data from observation and interview surveys in Beijing

Abstract

This study is an attempt to identify primary factors of the capacity of streets to generate childrenls p ］ ay spaces through in− dep重 h analysis oftheir environmental condi 重 ions and children " s play environments ． Analysis ofou 【 2003 − 2004 0bservation − and interview − survey data covering forty street sections in feur school districts in Beijing has revealed that convenien 重10cation and the availability of friends are among major reasons fer children ' s playing in the street ． The cu ］ −de ・ 1 sac configuration is charac 宜 eristic oflong ・ played and play −space −abundan 重 streets ． This is also a type of street which is efficien ！in generating play spaces ． Finally ， we have proved that both the amount ofgenerated play spaces and the amount of play ・ spaFe genera 重 ing sPaces in the streel can be predicted through multiple ・ regression equa 重 ions with failly high leve 】 ofprecision ． Key variables are ：the number ofaccessible playable spaces ， thc width of the street ， 重he total frontage ofopen places and the number bf interfering trees along the strce し

A Study on Changes to the Form of Children’s Playgrounds in Japan by Analyzing the JILA Selected Works of Landscape Architecture

“…China and Japan are undergoing similar processes of modernization, having the similar trend of being countries with declining birthrates and aging populations and development problems of urban children's play space, which offers the value of reference. Xiwei Yang.et al (2005) [23] investigated the characteristics of streets for children to play by an analysis of data from observation and interview surveys in Beijing. This shows that both the amount of generated play spaces and the amount of play-space generating spaces in the street can be predicted with a level of precision based on the number of accessible playable spaces, the width of the street, the total frontage of open places, and the number of interfering trees along the street.…”

“…Referring to previous research with regard to the aspect of the relationship between the play and the space characteristics of playgrounds in Japan [4,13,17,38,39], the importance of the natural elements in children's playgrounds [5,6,23,29,40,41], and the extraordinary play conditions [20,21,42] in Japan, including the child-oriented categories of the play and, separately, playing space, were presented through the eyes of the children and included playmates, play objects, play equipment; roads, parks, schools, homes nearby, and so on. However, there were few papers classified by designers' position combined with the play styles and space characteristics as the design elements.…”