Suwon Children's Positive Perceptions of Housing, Leisure, and Play on the Rise

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Children in Suwon show increasing positive perceptions regarding play and leisure activities, as well as residential environments.

Suwon City and the Suwon Institute of Urban Research conducted a child-friendliness survey from March to October, targeting 1,503 respondents including elementary, middle, and high school students, out-of-school children, parents, and child-related institutional staff.

Having received certification as a UNICEF-recognized child-friendly city, Suwon regularly conducts biennial child-friendliness surveys to report on children's living conditions and promote sustainable child-friendly city development.

Ahead of recertification in 2021, this third child-friendliness survey, conducted under the direction of Lee Young-an, senior researcher at the Suwon Institute of Urban Research, examined six core areas to understand the daily lives of Suwon children: ▲play and leisure ▲civic participation and awareness ▲safety and protection ▲health and social services ▲educational environment ▲residential environment; along with awareness of ▲Suwon's distinctive characteristics ▲human rights in general, and experiences of discrimination.

Survey results showed highly positive perceptions in the 'play and leisure' category, with 87.2% of elementary students, 83.1% of middle school students, and 77.1% of high school students responding "strongly agree" to the question "There is a safe place for children to play near my home in the local community."

In the 'civic participation and awareness' area, positive perceptions regarding provision of local information and opportunities for participation and decision-making increased by 7.8 percentage points compared to 2016. The 'safety and protection' area also showed high recognition that children live in a safe and well-protected environment.

In the 'health and social services' area, 74.3% gave positive responses to items concerning material support for low-income families. In the 'residential environment' area, most items—including water access, sanitation, safety, and adequate living space—showed higher response rates than previously.

The 'Suwon characteristics' area demonstrated generally high awareness of material and emotional support initiatives implemented by Suwon City. In particular, awareness regarding professionals whom children can talk to about their concerns at school increased by 12.9 percentage points, marking a significant positive change.

Additionally, the survey included supplementary questions on human rights and discrimination, identifying instances and experiences of discrimination stemming from various factors and assessing related awareness.

The city plans to publish the survey results on its homepage in November. In December, it will hold a roundtable discussion forum to gather public opinions on the child-friendly city initiative.

Furthermore, the results will be utilized for the 2021 recertification of child-friendly city status and reflected in the development of the Second Suwon Child-Friendly City Mid-to-Long-Term Plan (2022-2025).