Environmental Characteristics of Children’s Neighborhood Activities

Abstract

Environmental characteristics affecting children’s physical abilities and health are worth understanding. The purpose of this study is to identify neighborhood environmental characteristics that influence children’s activities and assess the friendliness of Taiwanese communities toward children’s activities. Conditions are observed on the basis of five environmental characteristics: safety, amenity, accessibility, sociability, and attractiveness. The three communities studied have different combinations of street patterns and land use which, in turn, are conducive to different children’s activities. These findings are valuable for community design aimed at promoting children’s activities.Keywords: Neighborhood Characteristics, Children’s Activities, Community Design, Street Pattern.2398-4295 © 2017 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia.

Community Participation Strategies in Planning for Urban Parks

“…In this technological era, children are more likely to spend more time indoors, playing video games, watching television and engaging in the social media on the Internet. Zhang and Li (2010) found that the numbers of children performing outdoor recreation activities all over the world are decreasing in the past few years. In Malaysia, the Economic Planning Unit (2011) listed health, environment and social participation among the components to measure quality of life.…”

“…Well maintained parks provide venues for recreational and physical activities among the urban community to improve health and maintain fitness. Zhang and Li (2010) stated that accessible parks, playground and recreational facilities help in increasing physical activities and less sedentary activities. Besides the physical health benefits, nature and recreation are also important for social and psychological development (Chiesura 2004;Khotdee et al 2011).…”