THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF URBAN SPACE DESIGN FOR CHILDREN

Abstract

An important consideration in designing urban spaces for children is that it should aid children’s development and learning. An extensive literature from Cognitive Science has established that children’s social, cognitive, and motor development is promoted by various, wellresearched types of play. This article reviews the body of knowledge from Cognitive and Developmental Science concerning the benefits of play for learning and explains that it can and should be harnessed by urban designers. First, the review shows that different types of play confer different learning benefits. Urban space design that attempts to maximize learning from play should consider design’s affordance — what types of play are afforded by the design. Second, evidence from Cognitive Science show that children’s learning and exploration are fostered by challenge and ambiguity. Design that embraces these increases learning and creativity. Third, play is critical for children’s social learning, as it gives children the opportunity to practice social interaction. Urban design can catalyze social learning by creating spaces and structures that invite play among peers, as well as parent-child play. Beyond this theoretical review, this article also illustrates how to realistically implement these Cognitive Science-oriented urban design with an authentic case study.

Keywords

Urban Design / Children / Cognitive Science / Learning / Play

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2020 Higher Education Press