Social Capital for a Child-Friendly City

This book’s international comparative character that shows that urban childhood may differ globally but overall shares a decline in the building of children’s social capital. This is both a sincere loss for children growing up urban and a loss for cities. The social fabric of cities is only deteriorating when we don’t change this negative trend. This book was written with a focus on children's outdoor play and social capital, drawing on the results of joint research by researchers from Japan, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This is a groundbreaking book that suggests ways to rebuild social capital so that children can play outside and grow. Today, there is a tendency to describe about social capital in terms of IT networks. But contrary, this book is showing its originality advocating that social capital through real place is important for children's growth, and presents theories and concrete methods reflecting research findings. Although there are differences in culture, systems, and social backgrounds between the West and the East, this book transcends these differences and specifically identifies the common spatial and social conditions that promote children's outdoor play. In the final chapter, applying the pattern language method, and follow the illustrated keyword method to extract 107 patterns and show how to review and improve familiar spaces. This book is a must-read not only for children-related researchers and experts, but also for those in charge of urban planning and local government policies. Lia Karsten, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands/UNIMORE University, Italy