Examining the Social and Built Environment Factors Influencing Children’s Independent Use of Their Neighborhoods and the Experience of Local Settings as Child-Friendly

Abstract

Neighborhoods have traditionally served as important settings for children's independent activities, but use has declined dramatically. Global positioning system (GPS) monitors, activity diaries, annotated maps, and Google Earth-enabled interviews captured the neighborhood perceptions, usage, and independent activity ranges of twenty-three children (nine to twelve years) from London, Canada. While few participants used neighborhood settings on a habitual basis, local parks and homes of nearby friends were important independent destinations. Usage was strongly influenced by positive and negative social conditions, but local environments did not generally cater well to the shifting interests of resident children. Embedding childfriendly affordances through neighborhood planning may improve children's experience and independent use of local settings.

Paving the Way for Outdoor Play: Examining Socio-Environmental Barriers to Community-Based Outdoor Play

“…These results echo findings from the literature to date; child age has been consistently associated with outdoor play time, with time outdoors declining steadily as children transition from middle childhood to adolescence. Despite the typically concurrent increase in independent community mobility as children mature, some scholars have explained the decline in time spent outdoors as children age a result of increased school and homework loads [ 114 ] or a shift in interests towards more social or challenging activities, for which community outdoor spaces may not appeal or feel suitable for older children or teens [ 36 , 67 , 72 , 77 ]. The differences in participants’ outdoor play time by age even within this fairly narrow age range is an important reminder that not only do children’s play and recreation interests shift significantly across childhood and adolescence, but that the neighborhood conditions and perceptions which are influencing young people’s activity also shift.…”

“…The differences in participants’ outdoor play time by age even within this fairly narrow age range is an important reminder that not only do children’s play and recreation interests shift significantly across childhood and adolescence, but that the neighborhood conditions and perceptions which are influencing young people’s activity also shift. Community provisions for outdoor play tend to focus primarily on the interests of younger children, often in the form of play structures, reducing the appeal of neighborhood spaces as children age [ 72 , 115 ]. Child-friendly planning strategies need to do more to address the diversity of play interests across the age spectrum.…”

“…Overall, screen time does appear to be related to outdoor play time, but it may be affecting some children’s time outdoors more than others depending on their preferences or their level of IM. Earlier studies by Loebach and Gilliland [ 72 , 75 ] suggest that greater time indoors and on screens may be related to a lack of appealing nearby play opportunities or community destinations. Additional qualitative work on children’s attitudes and preferences related to both screen-based and outdoor activities would help to better illuminate the nuances of these connections.…”

“…Historically, the neighborhood environment has been a common setting for Western children’s time outdoors and outdoor play [ 38 , 51 , 71 ]. The time and motivation children have for outdoor activity in their neighborhood or community is influenced by perceptions of multiple social, cultural, and environmental factors, including the physical infrastructure, cultural norms, and social characteristics of the neighborhood [ 22 , 34 , 39 , 72 ]. Parents’ perception of neighborhood safety, the availability of spaces for play, the presence of other children, and a sense of neighborhood cohesion have all been shown to affect if and how children spend time outside in their communities [ 54 , 56 , 70 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ].…”

“…The presence of other children within walking distance is an important facilitator of children’s unstructured, outdoor activity, as it affords impromptu opportunities for group play. It can also give parents a sense of collective safety, which can prompt them to give their children greater freedom when they are outside with friends [ 54 , 72 ].…”