GROWING-UP IN THE INNER-CITY - GREEN SPACES AS PLACES TO GROW

Children growing up in the inner city are at risk for a range of negat ive developmental outcomes. Do barren, inner-city neighborhood spaces compromise the everyday activities and experiences necessary for healt hy development? Sixty-four urban public housing outdoor spaces (27 low vegetation, 37 high vegetation) were observed on four separate occasi ons. Overall, inner-city children's everyday activities and access to adults appeared remarkably healthy; of the 262 children observed, most (73%) were involved in some type of play, and most groups of children (87%) were supervised to some degree. In relatively barren spaces, ho wever, the picture was considerably less optimistic: Levels of play an d access to adults were approximately half as much as those found in s paces with more trees and grass, and the incidence of creative play wa s significantly lower in barren spaces than in relatively green spaces .