The Role of the Physical Environment in Supporting Children’s Place Use: A Comparative Analysis from the Neighborhoods and Parks of Ankara

Date

2025-9-1

Author

Yaman, Senanur

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This thesis explores the relationship between urban public spaces and children’s place use, focusing on how spatial characteristics influence children’s activities, durations of stay, and engagements. Building on theoretical perspectives from environmental psychology and children’s geographies, the study conceptualizes place as a lived, experiential construct shaped by social, and temporal dimensions. Following the analysis of land use mix and neighborhood greenness of eight neighborhoods in Ankara, data collection started with an activity diary activity, which was conducted with 9-14-year-old children (n=656) living in these neighborhoods in spring season. Based on the results from these diaries and on children's comments in a participatory mapping activity, four parks were selected from the chosen neighborhoods. Behavior mapping was employed in selected four parks to record children’s location, activity type, and duration of engagement in spring season, enabling quantitative and qualitative comparisons. The findings reveal that spatial design, surface types, play equipment distribution, and proximity to residential and commercial areas may affect the intensity and diversity of children’s use. Parks with varied play zones and clear connections to surrounding residential areas supported longer stays and more diverse social interactions. The study contributes to earlier studies on child-friendly urban design by demonstrating how spatial features can enhance the inclusivity and vitality of public spaces. The results suggest several recommendations for urban planners and urban designers (both at meso- and micro-scale) aiming to promote children’s independent mobility, play opportunities.

Subject Keywords

Children's Place Use, Urban Form, Environmental Psychology, Affordances

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/116166

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis