A Child's Garden City: An Exploration of Child-Friendly Design in Today's Urban Spaces

Sammanfattning

Children do not have many spaces designed entirely for their needs in our world. This has inspired the concept of ‘A Child’s Garden City’. The idea includes research of how children can be included in design and the process of creating safer cities with their considerations in the center. This Master’s Thesis can inspire the relationship between growing natural vegetation, self-sustaining infrastructure and community all considered from the perspective of children that will have their childhood within this environment. Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) is a large part of ‘A Child’s Garden City’. UGI includes different natural sustainability features to help with greener communities. Factors such as forests, wetlands, urban agriculture, community gardens, urban trees, green roofs, rain gardens, swales and ecology on a micro-scale can help a community become more sustainable in water management, food creation and economical status. This is very significant for a future where the resources on our planet are limited and we need to find ways to work together and combat negative environmental implications. Introducing children to these factors of sustainability early on in their lives can help the future significantly. Through time, green developments will grow into larger, more used communities by children today and other future generations. Child-oriented communities should also include aspects of nature and play. Urban spaces should be created with play and nature integrated within and throughout. Cities with a children-oriented perspective to the world can encourage education, use and adaptability in different forms. It is fascinating to see how children can learn through their environment. They are more likely to care about the environment and sustainability if it was implemented around them from a young age and taught to them within a growing space. Child-friendly urban design is therefore valuable for humanity’s future in sustainability and development.