Public space and urban resilience: children’s perspectives. The case of the hills of Valparaíso, Chile

ABSTRACT

Public space has become an essential component of resilient urban development. Despite the growing recognition of this reality, public space and its functionality amid socio-natural disasters are usually not considered in risk planning and management. The child population, certainly among the most vulnerable, is equally invisible amid mitigation measures and post-catastrophe reconstruction. Thus, this article seeks to advance the understanding of children's perceptions of public space, focusing on the role it could play in resilient urban development. To this end, a comparative approach was used, based on three public spaces located in the hills of the city of Valparaíso, a territory characterised by its vulnerability to urban fires and earthquakes. Using creative, art-based methods to engage children in participatory workshops reveals differences between the three case studies related to public space design processes and institutional actions.

KEYWORDS:

• Public space
• urban resilience development
• child-friendly cities
• vulnerable territories
• socio-natural disasters

Acknowledgments

This investigation was supported by the Dirección de Investigación, Innovación y Postgrado of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, as part of the research project ‘Los nuevos roles del espacio público en la construcción y educación de la civilidad y los riesgos de origen antrópico o natural: un enfoque en la niñez’.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 After Japan, Chile is the second-most seismic country globally and has the fourth-greatest risk of significant damage from natural catastrophes, according to a United Nations (UN) report at the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in March 2015.

2 The last renovation was in 2012 by the NGO Valparaíso Interviene. It consisted of improving the small amphitheatre, in which neighbours also participated (www.valparaisointerviene.cl).

3 Reports about the Esmeralda Square design process lack information on child population participation. Neighbours and members of nearby educational establishments confirmed the lack of child participation in the design process.

4 SES in Chile goes from the highest strata AB to the lowest E (GfK, Chile, 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa María; This investigation was supported by the Dirección de Investigación, Innovación y Postgrado of the Universidad Técnica FedericoSanta María, as part of the research project ‘Los nuevos roles del espacio público en la construcción y educación de la civilidad y los riesgosde origen antrópico o natural: un enfoque en la niñez’.