Reclaiming the Urban Public Realm as a Site for Children’s Play

Abstract

Since the earliest waves of Modernist planning and the application of systematic zoning, parks and playgrounds have served as exclusive domains for children's recreational activities within the rational city. However, with the prevalence of car-dependent lifestyles, free outdoor play has nearly vanished from urban public realms. The increasing rates of childhood obesity worldwide, along with alarming risks to mental and physical health, underscore the urgent need to reevaluate the childless urban landscape. This dissertation challenges this phenomenon by recognizing the developmental significance of children's engagement in urban life, aiming to reassert the urban public realm as a vital site for children's play and agency. Despite numerous studies advocating for the promotion of outdoor free play and exploring opportunities for children’s independent mobility, a persistent gap remains between research and practical urban policies. Grounded in the UN's Child-Friendly Cities Initiative, this research aims to bridge this divide by drawing on empirical data grounded in the lived experiences of children and emphasizing the reactivation of public spaces for play while promoting intergenerational coexistence. Informed by relativist ontology, constructivist epistemology, and the communicative turn in planning theory, three key objectives underpin the investigation: to examine how urban configurations impact children's active play; to identify the types of play happening on pathways connecting residential areas to schools and play spaces; and, to explore the linkages between neighbourhood configurations, children's sense of belonging, and perceptions of safety. This research employs critical ethnography and draws on empirical data grounded in the lived experiences of children to address these objectives. The findings advocate for urban planners to pay equal attention to the quality and configuration of urban pathways alongside parks and playgrounds, emphasizing the urban public realm as a play network and leveraging local knowledge and children's lived experiences to create inclusive, playful, and vibrant urban environments. Moreover, it holds added relevance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, offering insights into the impact of crises on public space usage. This research contributes to the broader planning discourse by opening new possibilities for reuniting families with children in the urban metropolitan core and achieving greater social and environmental sustainability goals.