Children's Knowledge of their Environment: Implications for Urban Education and Urban Planners

Resumen

Nowadays the concern to relate education to the urban environment has generated different approaches to environmental education. However, these approaches generally do not take into account the previous knowledge and experience children have of their urban environment, or the possible effects that a given spatial organization and design of a built-up environment have on both the perception and behavior of children. This paper presents a study carried out on 94 children, from 3 schools, situated in 3 different urban districts of Barcelona. A model analysis of 7 categories has been used to discover the knowledge and experiences children have of their environment in relation to the particular area where they live. As a background to this research, the different approaches taken by schools to Environmental Studies are discussed, at the beginning of the article. Finally, it is suggested that the findings of the study and especially the methodological approach developed in it can inform the work of those schools interested in the urban environment as a study object or as a source of children's everyday knowledge, and that of urban designers who seek a better quality of life for urban users, especially for children.