By Lamine Mahdjoubi
Lamine Mahdjoubi, Faculty of the Built Environment at the University
of the West of England challenged the audience: “A lot of people say
that a livable city is one that is livable for children. But as I am
going to show, in cities around the world, children are disappearing
from our urban environment. I will share with you some of the work we
have been doing in looking at the link between child play, health and
the built environment.
“The Good Child Enquiry by the Children Society asked thousands of
children throughout the UK “What is your definition of a good life?” The
first thing is friendship. Socializing is a very powerful measure of a
“good life” for children. The second important thing is play. Play is a
powerful catalyst for children to socialize, exercise, etc.” The study
also showed that children have fewer friends than before, said Lamine,
so there are fewer opportunities for them to socialize. They are
spending less time playing out of doors, and more time sitting indoors.
Nearly twenty percent of children play outside less than one hour per
week.
“Children used to play close to home on the street, so the rise of
the car has had the biggest impact on children’s play. And we seem to
have become obsessed with the idea that children have to play in
ghettoized playgrounds. But our work at the University of the West of
England has found that children find playgrounds boring.” Lamine
examines the recent changes in patterns of child play nationally, where
economic resources are going, and the various barriers to children’s
play, including parental attitudes. He then presents his research that
compares play in formal playgrounds, with informal play in the street.
He concludes that we have to find a way to make our streets safer and
more attractive for children, to entice them back to the street,
because this is where children’s health can benefit most from extensive
physical activity, and where children can experience the most rewarding
social interaction with their friends.
