Exploring Child-Friendly Waterfront Public Spaces Using a Photovoice Study: A Pilot in the Yangpu Waterfront, Shanghai, China

Abstract

Child participation is crucial for honouring children’s rights and plays a significant role in fostering the development of sustainable built environments. Despite the continuous involvement of children since the Child Friendly Cities Initiative, UNICEF reports little influence of children's voices in urban planning. This limitation stems from the inherent immaturity of children's cognitive and expressive skills and a deficiency in appropriate participatory approaches, leading to passive responses during participation. Consequently, there is an urgent need for more appropriate and effective participatory methods that inspire children to observe and reflect through real scenarios, express themselves through hands-on experiences, and take the initiative in expressing their ideas.

To address this gap, this study introduces child participatory research methods, employing the photovoice approach. The aim is to investigate children's perceptions of urban public spaces and examine the applicability of children's participation in child-friendly regeneration. This paper illustrates this through the child-friendly regeneration of the Yangpu Waterfront in central Shanghai, using the waterfront public space as a case study due to its significance as a blue-green resource for children's healthy development and its unique status as a specific space in Shanghai. In November 2022, a child participation workshop was conducted, involving 35 students tasked with capturing at least six photographs of waterfront spaces over a week. Subsequently, they marked their travel destinations, routes, and favorite places on a map and described the features and feelings of the photographed built environment in individual interviews.

A systematic analysis of 35 maps, 210 photographs, and their descriptions revealed a decreasing subjective rating order of safety, health, inclusivity, and play. Specifically, the health score was higher due to the greener environment and the availability of physical activities such as cycling. Conversely, the inclusivity score was lower due to the longer waterfront space with fewer services; 21.8% of the children expressed a need for more toilets and convenience stores. Additionally, dissatisfaction with the materials and color scheme of the well-designed reused industrial heritage space was noted. The lowest score was for play, with children highlighting the lack of activity areas or play facilities for children and preferring natural play areas with some challenge.

Based on these findings, we propose strategies to enhance the child-friendliness of waterfront spaces, including improving the playability of the local industrial heritage and natural landscapes, optimising the layout of child-related facilities, and improving inclusive design by considering children's preferences in materials and colours. Importantly, photovoice emerges as a catalyst for encouraging children's critical thinking and positive suggestions about public spaces, thereby identifying issues often overlooked by adult perspectives. This paper not only contributes to summarising the significance and feasibility of applying a child participation approach to child-friendly regeneration practices but also provides valuable references for subsequent participation initiatives.