Ask
Ask is a one year consultation project involving disabled and non-disabled children in the evaluation of public outdoor space. Proven techniques will be used to ascertain the needs of all people, to inform future design and management decisions. Ask is funded by the Japan Foundation, the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
The project will involve four consultation programmes, at three sites in the UK and three in Japan, using proven techniques developed by Sensory Trust in the UK and the Association for Children’s Environment (ACE) in Japan. The voices of disabled children have often been neglected in consultation in both countries, and therefore not well represented in outdoor designs. Disabled and non-disabled children will share their opinions on site facilities, barriers to access, services and experience. Students and on-site staff will also take an active role working with the children, allowing them to learn first hand how different peoples needs and experiences can be catered for in an outdoor environment.
Additional site surveys and interviews with specialists in this field will gain understanding of these issues in Japan and UK, and help identify potential solutions. Site visits will be undertaken to collect examples of good practice.
Children benefit from being outside, interacting with their environment, learning from nature and developing through play. However, children’s environments have changed dramatically: there are fewer natural environments and increasingly parents discourage outdoor play. Therefore the promotion of better quality environments and more opportunities for play is a crucial issue for healthy growth of children in both the UK and Japan.
This project aims to find effective responses to these issues by working directly with children to understand their needs. Bringing together disabled and non-disabled children will ensure access to the environment for all. Sensory Trust will run this collaborative study with ACE. Sensory Trust first made contact with project partner, Dr Ko Senda, through support for his comparative research on school environments and children’s development in the UK and Japan. Sensory Trust has also provided design advice and presented at conferences in Japan, and ran UK-Japan study tours.
Outcomes
Development of skills and awareness: Site/project staff involved in the consultation will learn techniques for improving the design and management of their sites, and will gain skills for carrying out further consultation. Design guidelines will improve designers’ understanding of how to improve environmental sites for children.
Sharing information: The results and techniques will be shared through a public report, available from the partners’ websites. Examples of successful design, from both countries, will be available to guide those planning new or modified outdoor designs. Consultation methodology will be made available to other researchers and designers.
UK-Japan understanding: By carrying out the same activities in both countries and the sharing of good practice. Japan and UK share the same problems relating to children’s disconnection from their environment and through the comparative study, it will be possible to share identify strategies that are relevant to both.
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