There is an increasing interest in outdoor play, both in research and in policy. However, in (re)designing, planning and managing the public space, there is still limited attention for children’s actual playing behavior. A lot of urban planning decisions are based on adults’ perceptions of children’s playing behavior and focus on formal play spaces, rather than on their actual behavior and on other, more informal, play places children might also use. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore where children play outdoors, with whom and what kind of activities they are performing there. Between February 2022 and March 2023 1,127 – mainly primary school - children were systematically observed after school in three post-war residential districts in three cities in The Netherlands. The majority of the children were between 5-8 years old (50%). Above the age of 8 years, substantially more boys (70%) than girls (30%) were playing outdoors. Most of the children (79%) were playing with other children, 8% were playing alone. The playground was the most popular play space (36% of the observed children were playing there), followed by public sports fields (14%) and sidewalks (13%). With respect to the type of activities, relaxing (21%) was the most common activity, followed by ball sports (14%), climbing or hanging (11%), swinging (10%), and riding on wheels (9%). This study showed differences in play behavior by gender, age, district and play space and stress the need for a broader definition of play, and for focusing on formal as well as informal play spaces.
De gemeente Den Haag heft sinds 2010 zeven outdoor fitness locaties aangelegd om haar inwoners meer te laten bewegen. Maar worden deze 'fitplaatsen' wel gebruikt? En wat zijn de randvoorwaarden en succesfactoren voor gebruik van de Haagse fitplaatsen?
Background A healthy lifestyle is beneficial for everyone, including students and employees of universities of applied sciences (UAS). Although these groups experience high stress-levels and spent many hours sedentary, only few lifestyle interventions focus on these target groups that potentially could improve their well-being, and physical and mental health. Objective This study explores the lifestyle of students and employees at the Hague UAS using a narrative research method. The study aims to create personas, separate for students and employees, to inform future tailored lifestyle interventions. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 employees (26+ years old; 4 males, 9 females), and 12 students (18-35 years old; 4 males, 6 females, 2 identified as other). Via the storytelling technique[1], participants were asked to describe past situations on lifestyle-related decisions. Two researchers independently extracted stories from the interviews and linked a theme to each story. Analysis involved a cyclic process of constant comparison. The themes were grouped in main themes to create a story web. Thereafter, personas were created for both students and employees. Results Although we are in the midst of analyzing, preliminary distinction can be made between several groups of people. For example, one group tends to be underweight and struggles to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A second group deals with allergies, food intolerances, physical limitations or chronical illnesses. A third group incorporated health in their lifestyle. And a fourth group does not care, has other priorities or has insufficient knowledge about a healthy lifestyle. Conclusion Lifestyle is personal and, therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach for all students and employees is inadequate. In more detail, some people will benefit from social interventions, e.g. setting up a sports competition, others from physical interventions, e.g. nudging the stairs. Our next step is developing tailored lifestyle interventions in co-creation with students and employees.
