Julia Steenwegen works on resilient neighbourhoods, with kids as co-researchers

Children see their neighbourhoods differently than adults do, says Julia Steenwegen (Family & Youth Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam). In the neighbourhood of Delfshaven, she worked on climate challenges with children as her fellow researchers. The solutions they came up with have now been implemented in a local playground.

'They were amazed that something actually happened, and that it didn't just remain something hypothetical'

Julia Steenwegen

For the child researchers, that was a surprising experience, Steenwegen says. 'They were amazed that something actually happened, and that it didn’t just remain something hypothetical.'

Children are rarely actively involved in decisions about how neighbourhoods are designed. According to Steenwegen, that’s a missed opportunity, because children have unique knowledge of public space. They experience their surroundings differently from adults: they know exactly where it becomes too hot to play in summer, which cycling routes feel unsafe, and where the best benches are to meet up with friends.

Children as co-researchers

Steenwegen studies how neighbourhoods can contribute to children's well-being within the CORNER project. 'What I enjoy most about my research is that we collaborate as much as possible with partners from the neighborhood itself — big partners as well as little ones,' she says.

In Steenwegen's research, children are not respondents, but co-researchers. They identify challenges in the neighbourhood, brainstorm solutions, and create designs for their own living environment. And they are in charge of shaping the research process and making decisions about its direction. 'That's probably the most innovative aspect of our research.'

KIDGREENS

One of the projects Steenwegen has worked on recently is KIDGREENS, a project in Rotterdam-West. Child co-researchers worked together with scientists from Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft, and Erasmus MC on solutions for heat stress, flooding, and other climate-related challenges in Rotterdam neighbourhoods.

According to Steenwegen, this approach leads to different insights than traditional research. Children think less in terms of policy or urban planning, and more from their own experience as active users of public space. Where can you shelter from the sun? Where does standing water linger after heavy rain? Which playgrounds are nice for both kids and parents?

In Park 1943 in Delfshaven, the ideas the children came up with eventually took concrete shape. During the renovation of the playground, their solutions were actually implemented.

Chalk hopscotch grid on red brick sidewalk beside a brick house wall

Video: Julia Steenwegen on KIDGREENS
Julia Steenwegen (lead researcher), Joyce Weeland, Annabel Vreeker, Lore Van Praag, Mathieu Gielen, Niko Vegt en Julia Ham received a Kick Starter grant from the Resilient Delta Initiative for the KIDGREENS project.

In this video, part of a series of video portraits of Kick Starter grant recipients, Julia talks in more detail about the research project.