About Outdoor Play Safety

Outdoor play affords benefits to children that are not readily available indoors, including physical movement, exposure to natural environments and materials, and promoting social engagement. Yet half of Canadian children play actively outdoors for less than three hours a week.

Parental perception of neighbourhood safety is a key factor limiting independent mobility and access to outdoor play, especially prior to adolescence. This report addresses the literature for elements of the BUE (built urban environment, refers to man-made features in which people live, work and recreate daily; these artificial features can be altered) associated with crime as well as other features that reduce safety so these factors can be mapped.

Since parents are likely to have a prominent impact on their children's behaviour and choices related to playability; it is therefore, vital to use qualitative literature research and Geographic Information Science (GIS) methodologies to comprehend which elements influence parent’s perception in restraining their child’s access to outdoor play.