Children's appreciation of outdoor places in a poor neighborhood
Positive and negative features coexist in children's preferred outdoor places
Castonguay and Jutras examined 7- to 12-year-old children’s liked, favorite, and disliked outdoor places in their neighborhood. Children participating in this study lived in a poor neighborhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The 28 participating children photographed outdoor places in their neighborhood that they liked to go and researchers individually interviewed each child about their photographs, as well as their favorite place and places they disliked. In analyzing the content of the interviews and photographs, Castonguay and Jutras found that parks and playgrounds were both children’s most liked and disliked places, while the greatest percentage of children identified spaces near an acquaintance’s home as their favorite place. In examining variation in children’s place preferences, researchers found that preferences did not vary significantly with regard to family structure, income, or length of residence, however, older children were more likely to identify parks and playgrounds as liked places, whereas younger children were more likely to identify spaces near an acquaintance’s home as liked places. With regard to favorite versus liked places, Castonguay and Jutras found that children attributed a greater number of positive characteristics and activities that they could engage in to their favorite places. In addition, researchers found that many children talked about natural elements in terms of their liked places and safety threats in terms of disliked places. This study provides valuable insight into how positive and negative features of places can coexist and the importance of providing safe play opportunities.
Citation
Castonguay, G, Jutras, S., (2009). Children's appreciation of outdoor places in a poor neighborhood. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(1),
