Interindividual differences in children's knowledge and uses of outdoor public spaces

The focus of the study is on interindividual differences emerging among six to 11 years-old children in the knowledge and modalities of uses of outdoors public spaces. A survey was conducted with 378 primary-school children in a small town of Paris suburban area. A questionnaire was used to find out which were the children's knowledge, frequency of visits, playful use and independent access to the main outdoor public spaces in their town. Results underscore that in an urban environment, public spaces fulfil an important function for children. As soon as six year of age, children demonstrate that they already have an extensive knowledge of the squares, parks and play areas in their proximal urban environment. Most of the known outdoors public spaces are regularly visited and used for plays by the children; however their independent access to these places is quite restricted. The independent access to outdoor spaces is the behaviour that shows the clearest evolution with age. Nonetheless, the most important differences in the knowledge and uses of public spaces are related to gender, to the boy's advantage. Manifest differences also emerge between children who dwell in a house and those dwell in a flat, the latter exhibiting a broader use of the public spaces of their city.