The Safe and Fun Children's Play Spaces: Evidence from Tokyo, Japan, and Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a research project aimed at understanding children's perceptions of play spaces, with an emphasis on safety and fun. Six places that were considered by the respondents of the first-stage research as having both attributes of safety and fun were observed. The findings show that these spaces are generally separated from motor vehicles and the child and adult users of these spaces show socially acceptable behaviours and a positive response toward children's outdoor play. Nevertheless, the findings also point out the significant differences in the characteristics of the safe and fun play spaces in Tokyo, Japan, and Bandung, Indonesia, in terms of their user behaviour, space availability, play affordances and availability of natural elements.

Children as urbanites: mapping the affordances and behavior settings of urban environments for Finnish and Japanese children

“…A recent study in New Zealand among 9-12-year-old children revealed a number of traffic concerns, with children's aspirations for a safer and more child-friendly environment encompassing slower traffic, more pedestrian crossings, and less traffic overall (Carroll et al 2015). Likewise, an examination of children's play spaces in Japan and Indonesia revealed that optimal neighborhood spaces for children in terms of being safe and fun were parks that were car-free (Drianda and Kinoshita 2015). Commercial and indoor settings were evaluated most positively in both countries.…”

Coping with Standards: Integrating Art and Safety into the Design of a Creative Playground

“…As the opportunities for children’s independent outdoor play have been decreasing especially in cities (see, for example, Frost 2012; Valentine and McKendrick 1997), public authorities and planners around the world have started looking for solutions as to how to create intriguing and safe urban play environments (Drianda and Kinoshita 2015). Hence, playgrounds are linked to wider discussions about child-friendly cities (Bishop and Corkery 2017; Gleeson and Sipe 2006; McAllister 2008) and urban planning and design that, nevertheless, are dominated by adults and their priorities and regulative rules.…”