Different social and political factors can moderate the effect of green amenities on children’s wellbeingA recent trend in urban initiatives involves creating and restoring green amenities for children and families as a way to improve their health and well-being. This study addresses a concern relating to “universal prescriptions” often used for greening initiatives in cities. It challenges “widely-held assumptions that child friendly green spaces of play produce universal benefits.” The focus of the study is on children's relational wellbeing and how this is shaped through the provision of green amenities in two new child-oriented parks in Barcelona: Nou Barris park and Poble Nou park. “Relational wellbeing” is defined as “the portion of overall wellbeing derived from social relations, connections, and interactions.”
The parks used for this case study are located in two different neighborhoods in Barcelona. The neighborhood around the Nou Barris park is characterized by low family economic capacity, a low proportion of college-educated residents, and above average percentage of children aged 0–14. Resident demands in this neighborhood played a key role in the development of the park. The absence of a clear perimeter around the park contributes to a sense of integration between the physical elements of the neighborhood (e.g., houses and streets) and the natural features of the park. The neighborhood around the Poble Nou park was included in a large-scale city-wide redevelopment initiative, resulting in a highly gentrified community. Neighborhood renovations – including the development of the Poble Nou park -- were developed through a top-down approach. The park includes vegetated walls and limited entrances, which closes it off from its surroundings. The interior includes abundant trees and bushes, a water area, wooden huts, a sand area, and several playgrounds with traditional playground equipment.
Researchers conducted 30 hours of observation in each park to gather information about the park's uses, users, and relationships between them. They also conducted an archival analysis of approximately 150 pages of documents related to the process of developing the parks. Greater relational wellbeing was observed in the seemingly more un-natural Nou Barris park. This was attributed to “an assemblage of designs and interactions promoting children's free play, self-exploration, self-management of risks, diverse social interactions, freedom of movement and environmental exploration, knowledge and control.” Observations in the more-natural Poble Nou park showed “high rates of supervised play, few movements across space, a strict arrangement of the types of play and scarce interactions with the social and material environment.” These observations indicate a lower level of relational wellbeing.
Thus, while the design of Nou Barris did not include attempts to promote children’s interactions with nature, such interactions were common. This phenomenon was attributed to “existing social and material contexts apart from the planned and designed elements that made them possible.” On the other hand, while Poble Nou was planned around a natural “aesthetic,” children’s interactions with natural elements were rare. This phenomenon was attributed to the social and material context which created a confined and rule-bound playscape. These findings indicate that different social and political factors can moderate the effect of green amenities on wellbeing and should thus be considered in the planning and provision of green space throughout a city.
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