Landscape Perception of Children Under the Age of 12 Living in Different Settings: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Due to the increasing scale of urbanisation, the topic of natural landscape perception is receiving more and more attention. Children who live in the city experience significantly less contact with nature and, due to that, lose connection with it. Therefore, this study aims to determine how the landscape perception of children who live in urban areas differs from that of children who live in rural places. The main findings were obtained using a systematic analysis of the literature. The results of this study show that in rural areas, children often have more space, freedom, and opportunities to experience and get to know the natural landscape and understand its processes, while in cities, children lose their close connection with nature and are constantly exposed to adverse environmental factors. This deterioration of environmental conditions, pollution, and constant noise is already becoming a common phenomenon for children. There is a need to conduct deeper research to understand better how children perceive the natural environment and how it can help preserve a child’s connection with nature in the cities.