Merging Spatial Data Approaches to Nature-based Play Networks

Many metropolitan areas are severely lacking in spaces that accommodate natural processes and features to which underserved children have easy access. Yet there is tremendous value in complex and natural environments supporting children’s experiences of ‘wildness’ in their own domain as they explore their own abilities and skill mastery. This presentation will explore the repurposing of vacant lots and streets as part of a contextual system for natural play in the inner city through a combination of top-down GIS data and bottom-up site analyses. This mixed-methods approach can help identify local patterns of insecurity, children’s circulation, and natural resource possibilities within a neighborhood, thus balancing systemic spatial data approaches with informal and tacit analyses. This presentation demonstrates ways in which children in low-income neighborhoods might be provided with nature play opportunities that are safe, stimulating, and educational.