Introduction

Healthy Places for Children: The Critical Role of Engagement, Common Vision, and Collaboration

“…What makes a healthy community for children? Public health looks beyond the individual and pays attention to the social determinants of health, and the physical and social environment of the community where people live, work, and play [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. UNICEF describes a child-friendly city as a place which offers a safe environment, access to essential services, and the inclusion and participation of children [ 1 ].…”

“…Community planning provides the policy foundation for zoning codes and services which meet children’s needs [ 20 , 21 ]. Most studies focus on the relation between the physical built environment and child health, such as streets and sidewalks to ensure walkability [ 8 , 22 , 23 ], neighborhood characteristics such as mixed use and access to play spaces [ 9 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], and housing characteristics [ 13 , 29 ].…”

“…Services matter. A range of community services are key to children’s health—adequate quality child care [ 30 ], community centers, and play spaces [ 9 , 31 ], family support programs [ 15 ], and access to nutrition and health services [ 32 ]. Increasingly, health studies recognize the need to identify which agencies are trusted by families with children, and which ones they turn to for information [ 33 ].…”

Outdoor nature-based play in early learning and childcare centres: Identifying the determinants of implementation using causal loop diagrams and social network analysis

“…Without appropriate, and accessible, outdoor space equipped to ensure the children's safety, whilst affording the opportunity to engage in risky play, it is difficult to promote nature-based play any further (Ernst, 2014). Over the last 10-15 years there has been an increased academic focus on the practical optimisation of outdoor play spaces and their affordances in the early years (Loebach et al, 2020;Maynard and Waters, 2014;Waters, 2017;White, 2019), where children are afforded challenge and risk within a framework of security and safety (White, 2019). Although multiple resources exist to support nature-based ELC, there remains a necessity to build and strengthen a robust evidence base around the effectiveness of outdoor nature-based ELC, specifically the environmental conditions and affordancesthe active ingredients -that support developmental outcomes of young children (Johnstone et al, 2022;Johnstone et al, 2022).…”

Elevating the Role of the Outdoor Environment for Adolescent Wellbeing in Everyday Life

“…Perceptions of them as competent and autonomous appear to have placed much of the responsibility on adolescents’ themselves to meet their place needs through their appropriation of space in other people’s places ( Childress, 2004 ). This is further reflected in the growing focus on youth participation in spatial practices ( Bishop and Corkery, 2017 ; Derr et al, 2018 ; Loebach et al, 2020 ). The agency of youth in spatial practices is a truly vital aspect of their wellbeing, but should not get mixed up with the overarching responsibility of adults having to make decisions in their best interest ( Vanderbeck, 2008 ).…”