Bell, Simon

Fraser, Kenneth

Ward Thompson, Catharine

Mumu, Tasniva Rahman

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC)

2025-10-07T13:42:57Z

2025-10-07T13:42:57Z

2025-10-07

The changes in contemporary societies have influenced childhood experiences. For instance, children’s play opportunities, habits and activities are diverting from outdoors to indoors, thereby contributing to more sedentary lifestyles. This development is exacerbated by contemporary global trends of increasing screen-based play and a growing preference for indoor games. One key negative impact of this is the rise in childhood obesity, impacting approximately 40 million children under the age of five globally. This can also be attributed to factors such as inadequate PA, which were amplified by the COVID-19 lockdowns. In the context of increasingly dense cities in developing countries like Dhaka in Bangladesh, where significant densification of residential areas in both built and population aspects is taking place, outdoor spaces for play are now absent in many neighbourhoods of this city. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a minimum of 5,000 to 10,000 square metres of public green space within 300 metres of residents' homes in urban areas. However, Dhaka falls significantly short of this standard, with less than one square metre of open space available per person in central areas. This is concerning, especially considering that 33% of the country’s population is children under 18. Consequently, a significant percentage of the population now has limited access to the urban landscape, resulting in negative impacts on the physical, cognitive, and social development of children and young women. What can be done about this? How can play opportunities and the rights of the child to play, as stated by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, be re-established in dense cities like Dhaka? This research investigates the possibility of reversing this trend in Dhaka by examining the needs of children and young women, a social group with particular problems in Dhaka’s conservative Muslim society. How do young women (16-20 years) perceive the urban landscape, and how can the provision of outdoor activities and opportunities for social interaction be particularly enhanced for them? This study follows a case study approach to investigate the potential for creating both immediate and long-term outdoor spaces and play opportunities in selected neighbourhoods, considering the neighbourhood scale. This research is designed following two methodological approaches for the two distinct demographic groups: children and young women (16- 20 years). Methods such as spatial analysis, participant observation, focus groups, interviews, analysis of children’s drawings, photovoice, and co-design workshops were employed for data collection. Underutilised and unrecognised spaces were identified through spatial analysis and engagement with the community in the selected study areas. The concept of Urban Acupuncture, which involves small-scale interventions with significant community impact, has been used to incorporate play opportunities within these identified spaces. The results of this research present potential play opportunities in urban neighbourhoods for children and young women, considering their needs and perceptions of outdoor activities. This research addressed the design and policy interventions regarding the use of urban landscapes by children and young women. The primary findings of this research were the location of potential sites for ‘urban acupuncture’ to accommodate children and young women in extremely densely populated study neighbourhoods, providing approximately 2.6 sqm of open space per child in a neighbourhood block where there had previously been almost no accessible or useable open space per person. These findings and methodology can be replicated to improve these individuals' well-being and promote a more inclusive and sustainable urban landscape in the neighbourhoods of Dhaka.

https://hdl.handle.net/1842/44027

http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/6555

en

The University of Edinburgh

2026-10-07

urban acupuncture

urban play

gender and play

play opportunities

sustainable cities

dense neighbourhoods

Rethinking urban play opportunities and urban landscape for children and young women living in extremely densely populated neighbourhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

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