Active Communities: children’s experiences of the social and physical neighbourhood on their journeys to school

Active school travel (AST) can provide an inclusive opportunity for physical activity and shape healthy behaviours among children. Children’s affective experience of their everyday travel may influence their travel decisions, however, there is limited evidence about children’s preferences and experiences regarding their journey to school.1,2 Being in the middle of a pandemic with fewer opportunities for playing outdoors, it’s urgent to understand how we should design the built environment towards safe neighbourhoods for active children.

This study is based on a number of participatory map-based focus groups with year 5 children (aged 9-10) carried out between November 2019 and March 2020 in four primary schools located in Newcastle upon Tyne. The aim was to explore how children experienced their journey to school and identify their perceptions of neighbourhood design. Using qualitative geographic information system (GIS) software to analyse the results of participatory mapping with children, this paper demonstrates the places children indicated as fun, easy, uncomfortable, dangerous or favourite. Enablers and barriers to children’s engagement in public space are explored. Places providing opportunities for social interaction are found to be children’s most favourite spaces, while safety regarding traffic or other people’s activities emerged as a barrier to AST and playing outdoors.

The novel participatory approach and qualitative analysis employed in this study have the potential to contribute to the growing but limited body of research on children’s perceptions about environments supportive of physical and social activity. Insight into children’s experiences could inform urban planners, designers and health professionals how to apply more effective behaviour change interventions, targeting an increase in active school travel among children.3 Understanding children’s needs could support a post pandemic rethinking and designing of streets and public spaces that enable physically and socially active children and communities.