Growing up with rivers? Rivers in London children's worlds

This paper presents the results from exploratory research which set out to investigate London children's perceptions and uses of river environments. M ainly qualitative, multimethod research was carried out in four primary sch ools with children aged 9-11, focusing on two rivers near to the schools. R ivers were found to be marginal to the children's everyday lives and outdoo r play, being perceived as polluted, neglected, and initially dangerous pla ces. However, when experienced on visits observed as part of the research, some of these perceptions changed and rivers were also found to afford many special activities and experiences for the children. The visits were gener ally seen to have a positive effect on the children's perceptions of rivers , at least in the short term. This suggests that, if managed appropriately, rivers could be potentially rewarding play areas for children. Moreover, c hildren could provide valuable input for river managers in suggesting ways of improving suitable local rivers for increased recreational uses.