How does the neighbourhood built environment influence child development?

Abstract

Neighbourhoods provide important exposures and resources that can influence parents' capacity to raise their children and promote healthy child development. However, the majority of child development research has largely ignored neighbourhood contexts, particularly that of the built neighbourhood environment. There is growing evidence that the built environment influences children's physical health, through its impact on physical activity behaviours such as active play, walking and cycling, and independent mobility. For example, children living in more walkable, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods are more likely to be physically active, including walking and cycling to destinations, when compared with those living in less walkable neighbourhoods. As children's interaction with, and exposure to, their neighbourhood largely occurs through active travel and play; these experiences in turn, impact their mental, social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Given that neighbourhoods are among the most common settings where children spend time outside of home and school, there is substantial potential for the neighbourhood built environment to facilitate or hinder positive child development. This chapter discusses which features of the neighbourhood built environment may be conducive for healthy child development, and highlights the paucity of empirical evidence existing to support this relationship. Given the global interest in creating liveable, sustainable, and equitable neighbourhoods, alongside the 'child-friendly cities' movement, we will provide insight into an important emerging issue.