Peer-reviewed article
A Child-Friendly Environment from Chinese Children’s Perspective: Taking Shanghai Children’s Participation in the HG Park Renewal Project as an Example
Fang Wang, Yuanbing Liu ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view ·Key points
Limitations
Abstract
This paper examines what a child-friendly environment is like from the perspective of Shanghai children, thematically analyzing the group reports, group proposals and self-reports by children who participated in the HG community park renewal project in Shanghai. Shanghai children believe that a child-friendly environment, or a park, must be safe, in harmony with nature, and should also cater to their basic needs for leisure and entertainment, while also providing educational and learning opportunities. This indicates that Shanghai children’s conceptualizations of a friendly environment reflect both more universal values, norms and needs related to children during a specific life course stage, and unique Chinese features. On the one hand, these expectations reflect a general understanding of the relationship between children’s development and the urban environment. On the other hand, the formation of child-friendly concepts is influenced by the specific sociocultural context in which Shanghai children’s lives are unfolding. This paper highlights how contemporary urban life in Shanghai affects children’s conceptualizations of a child-friendly park, arguing that both traditional Chinese cultural concepts of harmony between humans and nature, and the highly competitive pressure from Chinese parents’ emphasis on education and the rigorous school system shape Shanghai children’s understandings of a desirable urban environment.