Urbani izziv Volume 33, No. 2, December 2022
: 82-90
(Articles)
UDK: 712.256:004.946
doi: 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2022-33-02-02
Author
Yasaman Nekoui
ETSAM School of Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
yasaman.nekoui@alumnos.upm.es
Eduardo Roig
ETSAM School of Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
e.roig@upm.es
Title
Playgrounds in the digitally mediated city: An
approach from augmented reality
Abstract
Today, the use of technological devices is commonplace
among children, which has also diminished children’s
presence in the city. Although children, as novel citizens,
develop some of their skills (such as social, mental, and
educational skills) in the city, many children face some
kind of city exclusion. Therefore, the way the physical
environment of their city is shaped and how children interact with it plays a principal role in child engagement.
A child-friendly city can be a place to engage children using contemporary tools such as augmented reality (AR),
which helps children communicate better and fosters
abilities such as spatial cognition and physical and social skills in the physical and digital world. This study
explores various examples and analyses the child-friendly
city features of each. This article presents AR and its capabilities as a potential tool utilized in the city to pave the
way toward a child-friendly mediated city – an inclusive
social urban environment where children play or spend
their leisure time and effectively mature into adulthood.
Key Words
augmented reality, child-friendly cities, urban perception, digital cities, digital social engagement