An index for assessing activity friendliness for children in urban environments of Berlin

Authors

  • Juliane Schicketanz Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Linus Grabenhenrich Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
  • Tobia Lakes Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Keywords:

walkability, childhood, neighborhood, urban health, spatial index

Abstract

The physical environment strongly influences physical activity in urban settings. While walkability is frequently assessed for adults, an approach for mapping the friendliness of urban environments focusing on children’s activities is not available. The aim of the presented approach was to identify supporting and limiting factors of activity friendliness in urban environments and incorporate them into a children’s physical activity index (CAI). We conducted qualitative guided interviews with nine- to ten-year-old children and parents of primary school children in Berlin to identify the factors and their importance for describing activity friendliness. Access to activity and recreational destinations, land use, traffic and road safety, and the social environment were the most prominent factors identified for the activity friendliness for children. The newly developed CAI enables a differentiation in the activity friendliness of urban neighborhoods for children.

Author Biography

Juliane Schicketanz, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Geography Department

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Published

2018-03-30

How to Cite

Schicketanz, J., Grabenhenrich, L., & Lakes, T. (2018). An index for assessing activity friendliness for children in urban environments of Berlin. DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, 149(1), 1–13. Retrieved from https://die-erde.de/index.php/die-erde/article/view/357

Issue

Section

Research articles