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Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth

15.0 hp
2025-09-01 - 2026-01-18
Location Independant
English
Application Code: SLU-M1311
Course Code: MP0006
Schedule in TimeEdit

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Entry Requirements

The equivalent of 120 credits and English 6

Course facts

Course name
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth
Swedish course name
Utomhusmiljöer för barn och ungdom
Level
Second cycle (A1N)
Main field of study
Landscape Architecture, Environmental Psychology
Credits
15.0 credits
Rate of study
50 %
Study location
Location Independant
Form of instruction
Distance learning without in-person meetings
Application code
SLU-M1311
Course code
MP0006
Course language
English
Offered as a freestanding course
Ja
Tuition fee
0 SEK
Tuition fees only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens

MP0006, Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth, 15.0 Hp
Print syllabus

Syllabus

Finalized by: PSR, 2024-11-14
Valid from : Autumn semester 2025 (2025-09-01)

Level

Second cycle (A1N)

Main field of study

Landscape Architecture, Environmental Psychology

Grading Scale

The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.

Course language

English

Entry Requirements

The equivalent of 120 credits and English 6

Objectives

The overall aim of the course is to give insights about the role of outdoor environments for children and youth in their everyday life, and how these spaces can be located, developed and maintained to support their health and social life, with benefits for their play, learning and development.
After completion of the course, the student will be able to: • Describe characteristics of outdoor environment important for children’s social life including opportunities for play, learning and development • Apply relevant strategies to investigate children’s experiences of and perspectives on place • Analyse what a specific setting implies for children concerning its location, content, design and management • Suggest general principles for planning and designing an outdoor environment for and with children and youth • Discuss the interaction between physical and social planning on issues related to children and youth
• List documents regulating the planning and design of children’s outdoor environments

Content

This course focuses on the role of outdoor environments in the everyday lives of children and youth. It introduces perspectives, concepts and methods from the interdisciplinary study of how children and youth interact with and experience outdoor spaces. Participants will learn strategies to explore children and youth’s relationships with different environments, examining how use spaces support their evolving needs from childhood through adolescence. This knowledge can be applied to improve the quality of outdoor settings, enhancing opportunities for play, learning, social connection and well-being. The course also explores practical approaches to addressing these needs through effective planning, design and management.


The course combines independent work with group activities and includes four online modules (via Zoom), each held over 2-3 days in September, October and November and January (dates published separately). Each module includes lectures, literature seminars and three assignments including field work and presentations.

Examination Formats and Requirements for Passing the Course

Successful completion of assignments and attendance at all mandatory course moments.

Responsible Department/Equivalent

Department of People and Society

Supplementary information

Module set

Title Credits Code
Single module 15.0 0001
The microsystem 5.0 0203
The macrosystem 5.0 0204

The Course Replaces

LK0260

Other Information

The course is given as a distance course at 50% speed, mandatory online meetings. Basic knowledge of landscape architecture, architecture, cultural geography, pedagogy or psychology are recommended.

LITERATURE LIST 2024

The below literature should be read in preparation of each literature seminar (see separate instructions on Canvas). Note, literature seminars are mandatory. To access these texts, please make use of SLU’s VPN service: Access to databases and e-journals requires VPN | Studentwebben (slu.se).

** Literature seminar I: 09:00-12:00 13th September**

  • Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of planning literature, 30(4), 433-452
  • Laaksoharju, T., & Rappe, E. (2017). Trees as affordances for connectedness to place–a framework to facilitate children’s relationship with nature. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 28, 150-159.
  • Loebach, J., Sanches, M., Jaffe, J., & Elton-Marshall, T. (2021). Paving the way for outdoor play: examining socio-environmental barriers to community-based outdoor play. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(7), 3617.
  • Wales, M., Mårtensson, F., Hoff, E., and Jansson, M. (2022). Elevating the Role of the Outdoor Environment for Adolescent Wellbeing in Everyday Life. Frontiers in Psychology 13. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.774592.

Literature seminar II: 09:00-12:00 31st October

  • Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Guiney, T. (2021). Walking with preschool‐aged children to explore their local wellbeing affordances. Geographical Research, 59(1), 118-135.
  • Jansson, M., Herbert, E., Zalar, A., & Johansson, M. (2022). Child-Friendly Environments—What, How and by Whom?. Sustainability, 14(8), 4852.
  • Mårtensson, F., Jansson, M., Johansson, M., Raustorp, A., Kylin, M., & Boldemann, C. (2014). The role of greenery for physical activity play at school grounds. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 13(1), 103-113.
  • Wales, M., Mårtensson, F., & Jansson, M. (2021). ‘You can be outside a lot': independent mobility and agency among children in a suburban community in Sweden. Children's Geographies, 19(2), 184-196.

Literature seminar III: 09:00-12:00 27th November

  • Jansson, M., & Lerstrup, I. (2020). Children's perspectives on green space management in Sweden and Denmark. In Place, Pedagogy and Play. Taylor & Francis.
  • Rodela, R., & Norss, E. (2023). Opening up spatial planning to the participation of children and youth: the Swedish experience. European Planning Studies, 31(2), 252-269.
  • Sandström, I., Ericsson, S., & Hedvall, P. O. (2024). Gendered Sustainability: Are Public Spaces Designed for Girls Good for Everyone? Examining Female Participation as a Strategy for Inclusive Public Space. Examining Female Participation as a Strategy for Inclusive Public Space.
  • Wenger, I., Prellwitz, M., Lundström, U., Lynch, H., & Schulze, C. (2023). Designing inclusive playgrounds in Switzerland: why is it so complex?. Children's Geographies, 21(3), 487-501.

academic year 2025/2026

Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10311)
2026-01-11 - 2026-02-01

academic year 2024/2025

Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10011)
2025-01-12 - 2025-02-02

academic year 2023/2024

Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10218)
2024-01-07 - 2024-01-28

academic year 2022/2023

Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10015)
2023-01-08 - 2023-01-29

academic year 2021/2022

Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10292)
2022-01-09 - 2022-01-30