Effects of Children's Outdoor Physical Activity in the Urban Neighborhood Activity Space Environment

Unveiling the magic of mega-city block environments: investigating the intriguing mechanisms shaping children's spontaneous play preferences

Introduction

This study delves into the spatial preferences of children for play spaces within high-density urban block environments, specifically targeting the area of Baihua Second Road in Shenzhen, China.

Methods

Recognizing the critical role of play in children's development, and the unique challenges posed by dense urban settings, this research employs multiclass logistic regression models and negative binomial regression models to construct a detailed mathematical analysis of neighborhood spatial elements and children's play space preferences. Data was meticulously gathered through both objective observations of 14 different types of spaces within the block, and subjective assessments via children's responses to a series of environment photos, capturing the essence of over 3,000 child participants' interactions and choices.

Results

Key findings reveal a pronounced preference among children for soft facility features and visually appealing spatial experiences, suggesting a nuanced understanding of play space needs beyond traditional playground designs. Notably, the study identifies that while cartoon-style designs in play facilities might increase moderate attractiveness, ordinary designs hold broader appeal, indicating a preference for diversity in play space aesthetics. These insights offer profound implications for urban planners and designers, advocating for a child-centered approach in the creation of urban play environments that prioritize aesthetic diversity, and the integration of natural elements.

Conclusion

Moreover, the study situates Baihua Second Road as a paradigmatic case, illustrating the methodology and analytical framework applied in addressing the complex interplay between children's play preferences and urban spatial configurations. By incorporating a comprehensive data-driven analysis, this research contributes significantly to the discourse on child-friendly urban design, offering valuable strategies for cultivating inclusive and engaging urban play spaces for children amidst the constraints of high-density city living.

Exploring Restrictions to use of community greenways for physical activity through structural equation modeling

Public health problems caused by rapid urbanization have attracted increasing amounts of attention. Existing studies show that improving the frequency and duration of physical activity among urban residents can effectively reduce their disease risk. A community greenway, as a green space for public activity directly serving community residents, is one of the best spatial place for bringing health benefits to people. Although the scale and scope of greenway construction have been increasing in recent years, the utilization rate of some greenways is not high for various reasons, restricting the extent to which people engage in healthy physical activities in greenway spaces. In this study, the greenway of Nancheng Community in Wenjiang District, Chengdu city, China was selected as the object of study, and structural equation modeling was conducted to explore the objective environmental factors and individual characteristics acting as barriers to use of the community greenway by the population for physical activity. The results show that user experience, the greenway landscape, and safety and accessibility are important factors that restrict people's willingness engage in physical activity in the community greenway environment. The results of this study provide a direction for further consideration of ways to enhance people's willingness to make use of greenways for physical activity, and further provide a theoretical basis for the healthy design and transformation of community greenway spaces.

Children's playgrounds contain more microplastics than other areas in urban parks

Children spend many hours in urban parks and playgrounds, where the tree canopy could filter microplastics released from the surrounding urban hotspots. However, the majority of children's playgrounds also contain plastic structures that could potentially release microplastics. To assess if the children's playgrounds pose a higher exposure risk than other places inside the park, we evaluate the extent of microplastic contamination in the sand, soil, and leaf samples from 19 playgrounds inside urban parks in Los Angeles, CA, USA. The average microplastic concentration in sand samples collected inside the playground was 72 p g-1, and >50 % of identified plastics were either polyethylene or polypropylene. Microplastic concentrations inside the playgrounds were on average >5 times greater than concentrations outside the playgrounds in the park, indicating that children playing within the playground may be exposed to more microplastics than children playing outside the playground in the same park. By comparing the microplastic composition found inside and outside the playgrounds with the plastic composition of the plastic structures in the playground, we show that plastic structures and other products used inside the playgrounds could contribute to elevated microplastic concentration. The population density was slightly correlated with a microplastic concentration in the park soil but did not correlate with microplastic concentration inside the playgrounds. Therefore, playgrounds in urban parks may have microplastic exposure risks via inhalation or ingestion via hand-to-mouth transfer.

The influence of outdoor play spaces in urban parks on children's social anxiety

Urban green spaces are critical to the healthy development of children's social interactions and activities. However, the relationship between urban green spaces for children's activities and the alleviation of children's social anxiety remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the link between spatial characteristics and social anxiety in children. To explore the coupling relationships among green space, play space, and social anxiety, an assessment of children's play spaces and levels of social anxiety was performed using self-reported data, OpenStreetMap captured the characteristic indicators of urban parks, and the ArcGIS and SPSS softwares were used for the mathematical analysis. The results showed that (1) both the NDVI and 10-min accessibility were significantly negatively related to children's social anxiety; (2) the diversity of service facilities, surfacing materials, and the attractiveness and challenge of the environment were negatively related to children's social anxiety; (3) there were significant differences between activity types and social anxiety. These results provide design references and a theoretical basis for improving the benefits of urban green space on children's health and wellbeing.

Comparative Review of Environmental Audit Tools for Public Open Spaces from the Perspective of Children's Activity

Public open spaces are important venues for children's participation in outdoor activities and social life. This study performs a comparative and qualitative review of the tools that can be used to audit the environments of children-focused public open spaces. The analysis reviews 25 studies involving 11 tools for comparison. The results reveal that (1) the tools were developed in different fields; (2) the tools use two data resources, field investigation and geographic databases; (3) the tool dimensions are diverse, as are the number of items covered, and are generally related to four categories: surrounding environment and accessibility, activity and perceived safety, children's sports and play opportunities, and aesthetic and comfort of the environment; (4) the reliability of most tools has been verified, with some validity still to be confirmed; (5) there are differences in tool users, settings, and aims. Among the tools, the CPAT and the EAPRS are the most comprehensive. Comparative analysis of the tools provides a reference for studies on children-focused public open spaces and for the development and improvement of corresponding tools in the future.