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.