Kremers, Jorn (2021) Child-friendly neighbourhoods. The influence of car-free neighbourhoods on child-friendliness and the potential benefits of the reclaimed space. Bachelor thesis.
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Abstract
Due to the enormous growth of car-use in the last decades, many urban areas in the world are burdened with congestion, traffic, noise, pollution and safety issues. To decrease car-use, the concept of car-free zones and traffic calming measures is getting more and more the attention. However, it is still not really known what the influences of car-free neighbourhoods are on children and on child-friendly planning. Therefore, the central question of this research which will be answered is: “To what extent could a car-free neighbourhood contribute to child-friendliness?” This explorative research is based on the two-step approach, in which the first step is an in-depth literature review about car-free neighbourhoods and child-friendliness, and the second step is the analyzation of survey results conducted in two car-free neighbourhoods and two car-present neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. Based on the literature review, there are various advantages of car-free neighbourhoods regarding safety, health, social cohesion, and environment. Furthermore, the literature shows that children living in car-present neighbourhoods cannot play outside independently anymore compared to children from the 1970s. The result is that children stay indoors more often because of the growth in car-use. The results of the survey show that the car-free neighbourhoods contribute to child-friendliness because of more street safety, health advantages and the opportunities for children to play outside. However, this research also shows that the child-friendliness of a neighbourhood not only depends on whether a neighbourhood is car-free or not. This is because the presence of greenery, playgrounds, and play equipment might even be more important than the implementation of a car-free neighbourhood to create a child-friendly environment. Residents from car-free neighbourhoods as well as residents from car-present neighbourhoods think that there is still room for improvement within the neighbourhood regarding child-friendliness. This means that a car-free neighbourhood is not by definition more child-friendly compared to a car-present neighbourhood, it also depends on the development opportunities in neighbourhoods for children regarding physical activity, active mobility, and social cohesion.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Spatial Planning and Design |
| Supervisor: | Niekerk, F. |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jul 2021 16:17 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jul 2021 16:17 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3521 |
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