SynthesisJournal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine2023
Influence of Neighborhood Built Environments on the Outdoor Free Play of Young Children: a Systematic, Mixed-Studies Review and Thematic Synthesis.
Synthesis in Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Do green spaces protect night sleep duration and sleep quality in children and adolescents? Evidence from 10 observational studies.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Associations between parental perceptions of neighbourhood environment and physical activity in children and adolescents: a systematic review including 149 studies.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Pooled it
- Neighborhood playability and early childhood development: a population-based birth cohort study.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Asthma knowledge and health-promoting behaviours among schoolchildren in Oman: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Association of physical and social neighbourhood environment with movement behaviours among schoolchildren: a compositional data analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Article
- Development and application of a geospatial index of urban playability for young children.Cities (London, England) · 2026Article
- Associations between walkability and physical activity among children and adolescents: evidence from a gamified intervention.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A Multi-Level Approach to Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management: Lessons from Japan and the United States.Nutrients · 2025Review
- The Dynamic Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space in Diverse Communities: Opportunities and Challenges to Public Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- A Qualitative Exploration of the Built Environment as a Key Mechanism of Safety and Social Cohesion for Youth in High-Violence Communities.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2024Article
- Modifying urban planning to promote child health: A scoping review of reviews.Health promotion perspectives · 2024Review
- "In small places, close to home": Urban environmental impacts on child rights across four global cities.Health & place · 2023Article
- Navigating Neighbourhood Opposition and Climate Change: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Play Street Pilot in Sydney, Australia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Streets ahead: Neighborhood safety and active outdoor play in early childhood using a nationally representative sample of 5-year-olds.Child developmentArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Urban environments shape early childhood exposures, experiences, and health behaviors, including outdoor free play, influencing the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of young children. We examined evidence for urban or suburban built environment influences on outdoor free play in 0-6-year-olds, considering potential differences across gender, culture, and geography. We systematically searched seven literature databases for relevant qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies: of 5740 unique studies, 53 met inclusion criteria. We assessed methodological quality and thematically synthesized findings from included studies. Three broad themes, features of spaces for play, routes, and social factors intersected to influence the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of neighborhoods for young children's outdoor free play across diverse cultural and geographic contexts. Proximity to formal or informal space for play, protection from traffic, pedestrian environment, green and natural environments, and opportunity for social connection supported outdoor free play. Family and community social context influenced perceptions of and use of space; however, we did not find consistent, gendered differences in built environment correlates of outdoor free play. Across diverse contexts, playable neighborhoods for young children provided nearby space for play, engaging routes protected from traffic and facilitated frequent interaction between people, nature, and structures.
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Registered trials
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