Abstract: The quality and level of civilization of a city are directly related to whether it is suitable for disadvantaged groups to live in. This article interprets the current situation of children's activity venues in China, and severely criticizes problems such as their lack of creativity and health risks. Combined with Western research results, it provides highly operational guidelines for the construction of child-friendly urban Spaces.
Abstract:  When kids in a city feel comfortable and happy,  the city usually has high degree of civilization. This article analyzed and criticized the status of Children’s activity  space in China and provided a ighly operational guide for constructing children-friendly urban space based on the  western research.
Written by Tang Min, Aoya Design Group. Edited by Jiang Tao
Text: Tom Tang, L&A Design GroupEditor: Jade Jiang

Previous words

Children are the most important group in China's urbanization process and the future of humanity. Since the United Nations Children's Fund proposed the concept of "Child-friendly Cities" in 1992, over 400 cities around the world have been recognized as such. Regrettably, China currently does not have any child-friendly cities. (Figure 1
The construction of child-friendly cities, in addition to basic guarantees such as child protection and education, increasingly emphasizes the construction of children's activity Spaces. Children's experience of nature, building friendships, promoting communication, enjoying games, and stimulating creativity are all core elements of children's activity Spaces in child-friendly cities.
in his influential and famous book "The Last Child in the Wood" published in 2008, American Richard Louv mentioned: "With the development of cities, children are getting further and further away from nature, spending more and more time indoors and beside video game consoles. The separation from nature and play causes many problems in children's psychology and development. The author refers to these symptoms as "natural deficiency syndrome". When we look at the current situation of children's activity venues in Chinese cities, we can't help but worry that the problem of nature-deficit disorder among Chinese children may become more serious and continue to intensify.
The current situation of children's activity venues and facilities in China
Research and investigation show that less than 10% of the existing children's activity venues in China are satisfied and recognized by children and parents. Meanwhile, the vast majority of activity Spaces have problems such as unreasonable spatial distribution, outdated equipment, and unscientific operation and management models.
At present, the children's activity areas in domestic open parks usually rely on children's equipment. This not only deviates from the local cultural context and lacks themes and novelty, but also lacks scientific operation and management concepts. As a result, children's active entertainment has turned into passive entertainment dominated by equipment. However, in most residential communities, the activity Spaces provided for children are simple and monotonous small and medium-sized ready-made equipment, which cannot meet the actual needs of residents. Moreover, the product Settings lack scientificity and have not been researched and designed in accordance with the activity needs of children of different ages. In addition, urban commercial shopping Spaces are increasingly becoming activity and entertainment venues for families and children. At present, the conventional children's activity Spaces in shopping places mostly lack creativity and interaction with commercial Spaces, and thus cannot form attractive systematic products. According to the current situation, we can divide the children's activity Spaces that are commonly existing in China into three main types:
Uniform community children's activity facilities
At present, the children's activity facilities in the vast majority of communities in China are generally characterized by poverty, dullness, mechanicization and uniformity. They are neither environmentally friendly nor seriously lacking in creativity. They fail to stimulate children's originally innocent and romantic imagination, and the happy experiences they obtain tend to be numb. This can easily lead to children's dependence on equipment and affect their creativity. (Figures 1 and 2
Thrilling large-scale amusement facilities
Outdoor children's playgrounds in China are filled with large-scale children's activity facilities such as Ferris wheels and pirate ships. Although these facilities can bring children's screams of Shouting to the sky, this overly stimulating kind of joy has side effects similar to opium smoking and is unsustainable, even harming children's growth. (Figure 3
An indoor children's activity area with murky air
Indoor children's activity places, especially video game arcades, often have murky air, extremely loud noise, and high radio frequency radiation, which has a very negative impact on children's health. It is truly lamentable that many school-aged children are addicted to such indoor children's activity places, seeking unhealthy and unsustainable pleasures. This is also an inevitable choice for children when there is a lack of activity venues that can bring them truly happy experiences. (Figure 4

The principles of the guidelines for building child-friendly cities
Compared with the several kinds of excessive, uncreative and unhealthy children's activity venues mentioned above, the rural and rustic way of playing that children grew up in the countryside in the 1970s and 1980s actually contains the beneficial values of continuity, interaction and exercise. It is more enjoyable than the opium-like joy of Ferris wheels, more numb joy than plastic equipment, and more self-harming joy than video game arcades. It is more beneficial to the healthy growth of children.
However, in today's era of rapid urbanization, the rural and idyllic happiness seems somewhat wishful thinking. After all, cities have replaced the original natural countryside. As adults and parents, almost the only thing we can do is to bring children the joy of experiencing nature with creative and designed nature. This is the approach of "The Child Lost in the Forest" and also the principle of the following child-friendly city construction guidelines.
A child-friendly city is spatially composed of children's activity Spaces, and hierarchy is the rule of the spatial system, and children's activity Spaces are no exception. The children's activity Spaces in a child-friendly city are divided into four levels. According to the travel ability of children of different ages, they are classified as follows: (1) Urban children's activity Spaces with a travel radius of over 1,000 meters (2) District-type children's activity Spaces with a travel radius of no more than 1,000 meters; (3) Community-type children's activity Spaces with a travel radius of no more than 300 to 400 meters; (4) Group-type children's activity Spaces with a travel radius of no more than 100 meters.
Standards for Children's Activity Space Design [1
Standards for urban parks designed for children's activities
This standard includes:
It is clearly stated that the convenience of use is more important than aesthetics
There is no restricted area (turf). The "English" lawn is replaced by grass, and the dead leaves become toys
· Reduce flower beds
· Improve the playable scenery (fruit trees, water, hills)
· Grass replaces "English lawn"
The withered leaves are kept as toys
Define a clear area
Separate different functional areas (fences, water, mountains, tree clusters, etc.) with scenery.
Mark the rest area
Dogs are not allowed to enter the children's playground. Separate areas should be set up for them
Transform the entire park into an activity area and design accessible water bodies
· Place activity facilities (trees, carvings) along the roadside
Mark out the areas for children and teenagers to play in and allow them to bring in anything
The woods can be used as activity venues
· Close to water bodies
Street standards designed for children's activities
In street standards, safety passages for connection should be set up, and pedestrian underpasses and overpasses for the separation of pedestrians and vehicles should be constructed. Promote the playable nature of streets and prohibit cars from entering residential areas. Specific measures include:
Connected safe passage
· Arrange dense and clear pedestrian crossing lines
The sidewalk should be accompanied by clear and understandable traffic signals and signboards
· Pedestrian underpass or pedestrian overpass
Active signal systems at large intersections
Maximum speed limit
· Speed limit in residential areas
· Streets for playing
Traffic measures such as setting bottlenecks, speed limits, and traffic islands, etc
· Isolation road: It separates the sidewalk from the main road by means of guardrails, trees, etc
· Car-free zone: A residential area where vehicles are not allowed to reach households directly

The standard for sidewalks and bicycle lanes designed for the lives of children and teenagers
It is required that sidewalks and bike lanes be wide enough to provide small roadside seats and separate pedestrians and vehicles.
Feasible solutions include:
Connected safe passage
Separate the sidewalks and bicycle lanes from the motor vehicle lanes
Build two-way sidewalks and bike lanes
Pedestrian and bicycle lanes with separate lines for pedestrians and vehicles
The dimensions of sidewalks and bike lanes
The sidewalk should be at least 2 meters wide
The bicycle lane should be at least 1.6 meters wide
Diverse designs
Place the sports facilities along the sidewalk
Mark the sidewalks and bike lanes with roads of different colors
Use street trees or other plants to divide
Stay area
· Enlarged parking space on the sidewalk
· Roadside seats are provided
Prevent illegal parking
Divide the road with guardrails and the like
· High curb
The criteria for evaluating the environment of residential areas suitable for children and teenagers to live in
Set up secluded and safe Spaces to provide children with opportunities to play independently
· Add natural recreational facilities: such as water, the "primitive" area in the garden, and fruit plants
· Increase opportunities for physical exercise: such as skateboarding, cycling and climbing trees
· Set up open temporary activity areas: such as barbecue areas, clotheslines, bicycle stations, etc.
Design garden standards suitable for children and teenagers
Design hiding places like tree houses to provide independent play areas
· Increase equipment for natural activities: water, stones, sand, wood, etc
· Increase sports activity venues: skating, cycling, football fields, etc
· Sites that can be renovated, such as flower beds, vegetable beds, etc
Temporary gardens and for viewing and interacting with animals, such as rabbit sheds and fence houses, etc.
Conclusion
The construction of a child-friendly city not only requires the design of creative children's activity Spaces that are closely integrated with nature and humanity, but also the comprehensive cooperation and joint promotion of all related fields of urban construction. This article mainly takes the research results of Mr. Oberrese Finkel (Germany) on children's activity Spaces as the basis and proposes a guideline for the construction of children's activity Spaces to inspire others. This guideline is also an important basis for the product design and implementation of Luojia Children's Theme Park, a sub-brand of Aoya. We hope to resonate with readers and welcome everyone to discuss the construction of children's activity Spaces with us through our official wechat platform or email, etc., to jointly promote the development of child-friendly cities in China.
References
[1] Oberrese Finkel (Germany), "Activity Venues: Cities - Designing Open Spaces for Child-Friendly Cities"
"Playground: City- Child-Friendly Design of Urban Open Space", translated by Wu Weiqiong