With the continuous advancement of urbanization and the accelerating transformation of demographic structures in China, the demand for childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0–3 has increased rapidly. Community-based public childcare facil...
With the continuous advancement of urbanization and the accelerating transformation of demographic structures in China, the demand for childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0–3 has increased rapidly. Community-based public childcare facilities have consequently become an important component of the urban public service system. However, in high-density urban environments, childcare facilities still face challenges such as insufficient spatial supply, uneven distribution, inadequate support for child development, and limited mechanisms for caregiver participation. As a result, they have not yet fully met the requirements for building child-friendly cities and establishing high-quality childcare service systems. Therefore, systematically evaluating the environmental quality of community-based public childcare facilities from a child-friendliness perspective and identifying directions for improvement has emerged as an important research issue. In particular, child-friendliness should be understood not only as the provision of a safe and healthy physical environment but also as a concept that ensures all children can equally enjoy public childcare services and developmental opportunities without discrimination, which is closely related to spatial and social equity.
This study aims to develop a child-friendliness evaluation framework for community-based public childcare facilities in Shanghai, specifically focusing on “BaoBaoWu (宝宝屋),” and to verify its applicability. Based on Child-Friendly City theory, Environmental Behavior theory, and Spatial Justice theory, child-friendliness is defined as a concept that encompasses not only environmental characteristics supporting safety, health, and development but also an equity perspective that guarantees equal access to services and developmental opportunities for all children. To achieve this objective, literature and policy analysis, Public Space and Public Life (PSPL) observation, Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis, Focus Group Interviews (FGI), and the Delphi method were integrated into the research process. First, preliminary evaluation indicators related to child-friendliness were derived through literature and policy analysis, PSPL observation, and GIS spatial analysis. Subsequently, FGI was conducted to integrate duplicate or similar indicators and refine their wording, resulting in the first-stage screening of the evaluation indicators. Based on these results, a Delphi survey was conducted to verify the importance and validity of the indicators and to identify the final core indicators. As a result, five evaluation categories—Physical Environment (PE), Activities (AC), Safety and Health (SH), Development (DV), and Accessibility and Equity (AE)—and 101 core evaluation indicators were established. The selected indicators were then transformed into questionnaire items, and SPSS statistical analysis was performed to verify the reliability and applicability of the evaluation framework.
The results indicate that the overall level of child-friendliness in Shanghai’s community-based public childcare facilities is at a moderately high level. Relatively stable foundations have been established in terms of environmental safety, hygiene management, and activity operation systems. However, improvements are still needed in spatial continuity, age-appropriate spatial scale, the utilization of cognitively supportive spaces, development-oriented activity systems, and equity in access to childcare services. Furthermore, differences were identified among different regional types in terms of childcare resource allocation and walkability. The relatively lower evaluation scores in the Accessibility and Equity (AE) category suggest that the issue extends beyond transportation accessibility alone. Rather, it reflects a structural problem in which the benefits of safety, activity support, and developmental opportunities provided by child-friendly environments are not equally distributed among all children. These findings indicate the need not only to improve regional service equity and balance but also to establish systematic measures that ensure the fair distribution of child-friendly benefits and developmental support opportunities.
Based on these findings, this study proposes a comprehensive set of optimization strategies centered on five evaluation categories: Physical Environment, Activities, Safety and Health, Development, and Accessibility and Equity. These strategies include improving spatial organization, restructuring activity systems, strengthening safety management mechanisms, expanding developmental support pathways, and enhancing service equity.
This study is academically significant in that it develops a child-friendliness evaluation framework for community-based public childcare facilities, thereby extending the scope of existing assessment tools such as the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), which have primarily focused on indoor childcare environments. The proposed framework provides an evaluation model applicable at the community level. Moreover, this study expands the concept of child-friendliness beyond the provision of safe and comfortable physical environments by incorporating an equity perspective that emphasizes the fair enjoyment of public childcare services and developmental opportunities by all children. By integrating Accessibility and Equity as a core dimension of the evaluation framework, this study presents a theoretical framework that interprets child-friendliness as an integrated concept encompassing both the quality of spatial environments and the equitable distribution of child-friendly benefits. The findings can serve as a valuable reference for the planning and policymaking of community-based public childcare facilities in the future.