Abstract
In Japan, public concern for child safety is increasing rapidly, and“neighborhood watch” programs for school-age children are widely implemented nowadays. This study aimed to identify a relationship between outdoor activities of small children and neighborhood activities of adults based on the analysis of GPS data. We conducted a monitoring study of activities of 28 elementary school students for two weeks by using GPS data loggers. At the same time, we also monitored adult's“neighborhood watch” activities that were implemented by 28 parents and 5 voluntary groups in a school district. The analysis of GPS data indicated that the spatial patterns of children's activities varied considerably across time. In particular, the GPS data of children's after school behavior indicated that the spatial concentration of children's activities shifted from roads to/from school to playgrounds as time passes. It was also found that, although the existing“neighborhood watch” activities tended to focus on roads from school, the activities did not fully cover children's playgrounds such as parks and wooded areas. Finally, we discussed the future direction of“neighborhood watch” activities in outdoor public spaces.
