Title: Children's play environment in Semarang City, Indonesia

Authors: Adhista Putri Pressilia; Nany Yuliastuti

Addresses: Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Indonesia ' Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Indonesia

Abstract: The limited activity and mobility of children in accessing play spaces are some of the problems that occur during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through children's mobility and play activities, children's play environment could be assessed, as in the theory of the Bullerby model. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristic of children's play environment in Semarang City according to Bullerby model during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is based on the perceptions and preferences of children who live in Semarang City. A quantitative approach is used to analyse the research data by scoring the questionnaire. The results show that Semarang City has a prison-like and glasshouse-like play environment. This study also found that even in the suburbs with low building density, children could have a prison-like environment due to fewer activities and games realised, even though there are plenty of play spaces available in their environment.

Keywords: Bullerby model; child-friendly; child activity; child mobility; child perspective; child participation; COVID-19; play space; urban density; assessment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2024.136259

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2024 Vol.16 No.1, pp.53 - 70

Received: 05 Feb 2022
Received in revised form: 14 Jun 2022
Accepted: 27 Oct 2022
Published online: 25 Jan 2024 *

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