Communicating place : methods for understanding children's experience of place

The places that children use for play and exploration in their neighbourhoods are important for their well-being. The development in modem society of increased social fears and the densification of the built environment means that children's independent mobility decreases. In order to create cities that are good environments for children, it is necessary to understand how children experience and use their places. But how do children communicate their experiences? In this book, Sofia Cele provides a vivid account of children's realities by exploring how primary school children in Sweden and England communicate their experiences of place. By testing the qualitative methods of group interviews, walks, drawings and photographs, it is shown how children communicate different aspects of place through different methods. The different narratives the children communicate provide insight into children's lives and thoughts, and reveal rich evidence of their experience of place. The need for the active involvement of adults is argued, in regard both to participating with children and to experiencing the children's places, as this generates situated knowledge that grasps the complexity of place. The results show new ways of consulting children that are based on children's own means of communication. This is crucial knowledge for anyone interested in children and their environments and in how adults can understand this relationship. Sofia Cele is a researcher at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University. After completing a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning, she studied and worked in garden design and journalism before pursuing a PhD in human geography. This work is her doctoral dissertation.