Mascarinas, Michelle Anne G. <br/><br/>
Affordance of play spaces in inner city neighborhoods:  identifying the spatial patterns associated with children's perception and behavior settings during active play/ 
Michelle Anne G. Mascarinas; Angelo Felix N. Regalado, adviser 
 -  2019 
 - 117 leaves 
<br/><br/>Thesis  
<br/><br/> Children and their play spaces portray a vital role in building better cities. With the child in mind, an urban landscape becomes holistically harmonious with its surroundings and its users. However, given the rapid demands in infrastructure especially in a developing urban center like Davao City, the loss of child-friendly spaces is observed even in neighborhoods where a young urbanite’s exploration is expected to begin. This study aimed to understand the relationship between children living in deprived neighborhoods and their local environment as backed by the spatial transactions they create when playing.<br/>Using Cognitive Mapping and Photo Elicitation as tools in identifying children’s perceptions toward their play environment, a total number of 93 schoolchildren from barangays 1-A Bolton, 5-A Bangkerohan, 6-A St. Jude and 76-A Bucana participated in the study. They were handed out cameras to photograph the places and items they interact with during active play. Also, a map drawing activity was initiated to mark their play areas in the neighborhood. Commonalities in their play spaces and activities were recorded and analyzed using CAQDAS while synthesis of the translated behavior settings and involved affordances were tabulated for frequency count and identification of spatial patterns.<br/>The children’s play transactions varied significantly in relation to the kind of environment they are in. The respondents described the street, their respective homes, the nearby shore, walkways, storefronts, the back of a car, etc. as preferable venues for play, wherein numerous features can be found. Garnered spatial elements were categorized as follows: natural, manmade, immovable feature and movable feature. A design guideline was created based from the affordance themes to create child-friendly spaces. The results obtained from the different study areas showed how the application of affordances as a theory essentially linked in understanding the relationship between users and their surroundings and that said linkage transcended a new approach in designing a holistic barangay compound dedicated to cater every member of a community.<br/> 
<br/><br/><label>Index Terms--Curriculum Objective: </label><br/>Architectural Design IX: Research Project in Architecture --ARCH191 <br/>Architectural design X: Architectural Design Project--ARCH192