Child Centered Design 

Urban 95 is an interdisciplinary research group funded by the Van Leer Foundation, and supported by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The project is dedicated to promoting well-being amongst ITC (Infants, Toddlers and Caregivers) in the urban environment. REED is leading the project’s Parks & Gardens team and is participating in the Urban Streets and the Mobility design teams.

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Inspired by the Attachment Theory, we are creating design guidelines that facilitate interactions supporting the caregiver-child relationship; a relationship fundamental to the healthy emotional development of children. The guidelines, currently being drafted, place equal importance on interactions in ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ areas of recreational spaces. The working model defines open spaces in terms of the security attractor (the caregiver) and the discovery attractor (the world). Through design interventions, children are encouraged to move between the attractors, gradually increasing their field of exploration and increased sense of independence and agency.