Changes of Children's Outdoor Play Activities and Consciousness of Play Spaces in Winter Sapporo

Abstract

In order to explore children's consciousness of the changes in winter play spaces during the past 12 years, a questionnaire was delivered to elementary school students in Sapporo, in 2002. Our aim was to understand the reasons for the decrease in the frequency of outdoor play activities in winter. The results were as follows: (1) The frequency of outdoor play activities decreased during the past 12 years, as well as the willingness to play outside in winter. (2) In the case of positive parents attitudes towards outdoor play activities in winter, the frequency of outdoor play activities of their children was higher compared to parents with negative attitudes. (3) Compared to 12 years ago, the frequency of playing on roads and barren grounds decreased, and the mostly used play spaces in winter were parks and dwelling surroundings. (4) There were no changes in the frequency of playing in parks during the past 12 years, therefore availability of parks proves to have an important role even during the winter season. According to the results, for the future planning of winter playgrounds, we have to consider not only the facilities (tangibles) , but also the management (intangibles) of these spaces.