Sally Watson

Playing out: The impact of innovative public space design on children’s activities in the Byker Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne

Children’s independent use of public space has decreased in recent decades. My research investigates the environmental factors which can positively influence children’s independent mobility and outdoor play. Taking as case study a pioneering 1970s council estate, the Byker Estate in Newcastle upon Tyne, it examines how it was designed to meet the perceived needs of children and investigates the experiences of different generations of children living there. It explores the extent to which attributes of the estate positively or negatively affect children’s activities in public space.

Supervisors: Maggie Roe, John Pendlebury