Safety – Premise for play: Exploring how characteristics of outdoor play spaces in urban residential areas influence children's perceived safety

There exists a deep and inherent linkage between the urban residential environment and perceived safety. Nonetheless, evidence on how outdoor play spaces in urban residential areas affect children's perceived safety is scarce. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of urban residential built environments on children's perceived safety, particularly by examining the characteristics of play spaces and their potential influences. Employing multiple regression and mediation analysis, we constructed a model to understand how these characteristics impact children's perceived safety. The findings reveal a significant positive effect of plot ratio on children's perceived safety, surpassing the influence of green space ratios. The abundance of natural materials was identified as the most influential spatial characteristic, followed by different sizes and types of spaces. Contrastingly, vegetation surprisingly showed a negative impact. Furthermore, visual stimulation from environmental characteristics are found to have a more significant influence on perceived safety than challenging aspects of the environment. Notably, the number of playmates plays a crucial mediating role in this relationship. Our research aims to enhance children's free play in urban outdoor spaces, offering evidence-based solutions and interventions for child-friendly urban design and policy regulation.