Children Domain in the Public Realm

This research aim to foresee the relationship between children domain in the public realm and subjective wellbeing in Rotterdam. Children domain in the public realm can be defined as children destination in the public space as the core elements of the neighborhood planning. Based on the theoretical background, the children domain in the public realm comprises of the school domain, the route domain, and the public amenities domain. Subjective wellbeing derived by questioning individual how satisfy are you as whole. Currently, the subjective wellbeing is commonly used as a tool to see social progress of a neighborhood, a city, and a nation. The research is deductive thus it is expected that the outcome can be generalized. It employs a mix method strategy in which an existing quantitative data analysis, spatial analysis and primary qualitative data analysis are able to perform triangulation to elevate the reliability and validity of the research. The findings from a series of cross sectional inferential analysis show that there is significant relationship between children domain in the public realm and subjective wellbeing. The relationship can be found in two ways. First, a direct relationship without any intermediary and second, an indirect relationship through the mediation of domain satisfaction. It can be explained in the three children domains in the public realm. First, in the school domain, the availability and accessibility of the primary school within walking distance or <500m significantly influence the subjective wellbeing - life satisfaction in positive direction indirectly through the mediating variable, the school domain satisfaction. The school domain satisfaction including satisfaction of the residents on the availability of preschool, primary school, and secondary school. Second, in the route domain, safety route regarding traffic safety, safety route regarding social safety and the availability of pedestrian pathway significantly affect the subjective wellbeing - life satisfaction in positive way, without any intermediary. Third, in the public amenities domain, the availability and accessibility of park and playground within walking distance or <500m affects subjective wellbeing significantly in negative sign. The availability and accessibility of health care within walking distance or <500m also significantly affects subjective wellbeing in negative sign. The availability and accessibility of sport, culture, and recreation facilities within walking distance or <500m significantly influence subjective wellbeing - life satisfaction directly. Moreover, other factors are elaborated to figure out why child-friendliness and subjective wellbeing differs among neighborhoods based on the findings from existing quantitative analysis, primary qualitative analysis conducted through an in depth interviews with the key actors, and literature study. Some indicators also recommended to elevate the child-friendliness of the city based on the findings in this research. Furthermore, the research comes out with policy recommendation in the field of child friendly city and subjective wellbeing, in which the local government may consider in prioritizing their program and plan.