Children as Key Actors in Participatory Planning: Co-Working Experience of Community Planning for Walking Safety Around Bongrae Elementary School in South Korea

Abstract

This study conducted a participatory planning process with children and applied it to a case study aiming to improve road safety in a school zone in Busan, South Korea. The planning project was conducted with children in a three-step planning process: field work, solution and location proposals, and plan construction. During the participatory planning process, children presented various opinions based on their experiences and selected preferred solutions and locations. The results show that children can serve as key actors in community planning. Planners must reinterpret planning problems based on children’s characteristics to ensure their active participation.

Keywords:

• Participatory planning
• child-friendly city
• road safety
• planning process
• community planning

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through “Climate Change R&D Project for New Climate Regime,” funded by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) [2022003570002].

Notes on contributors

Bo-Kyung Jung

Bo-Kyung Jung is a graduate student at the Department of Urban Planning and Engineering, Pusan National University. Her research interests focus on community participation, plan quality evaluation, and community development.

Donghyun Kim

Donghyun Kim is an Associate Professor at the Department of Urban Planning and Engineering, Pusan National University. His research interests include participatory planning, collaborative governance, and community resilience.