Research on Spontaneous Play and Environmental Characteristics Related to Children’s Interaction With Plants in Community Parks of Tianjin

Abstract

With the advance of inclusive city and child-friendly city construction, children’s opportunities to access nature have gained increasing concern. This study explored the play preference of children aged between 3 and 12 years old when they interact with plants, as well as the corresponding environmental characteristics, with four community parks in Tianjin as examples. It collected data on behaviors, plants, and environmental factors in the surroundings concerning children’s play with plants via multiple methods including behavioral observation, behavioral mapping, questionnaire, and semi-structured interview, which were examined under theories related to cognitive development, children’s play, and affordance. Employing methods such as quantitative analysis and cross tabulation analysis, the study further obtained the frequency of children’s various types of play and the affordance provided by different plants in varied environments, as well as the specific play behaviors in these environments. The findings show that due to the biophilic nature, children are able to actively make use of existing green spaces and utilize the perceived affordance, used affordance, and shaped affordance of plants to play various types of games in high-density urban environment. Children’s interaction/play with plants increases their direct connection with nature and can basically meet their daily needs for natural experience; green spaces where there are plants with diverse species and characteristics and varied environmental factors in the surroundings can stimulate more plant affordances. Future landscape design should pay more attention to how to facilitate children’s natural and spontaneous play by creating diverse places for different play needs, introducing rich and distinctive plants, developing supporting functions of other environmental elements, encouraging challenging and adventurous play, and strengthening safety and environmental education.

Keywords

Children / Community Park / Plant Landscape / Environmental Characteristics / Spontaneous Play

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