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An Internet-Based Design Game as a Mediator of Children’s Environmental Visions

Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Helsinki University of Technology, PL 900, FIN-02015 TKK, Finlandmarketta.kytta{at}hut.fi

Mirkka Kaaja

Liisa Horelli

This exploratory study examines howan Internet-assisted design game succeeds in bringing forth children’s own visions for the environment where they live and their definitions of a good environment. Two connected concepts in environmental psychology, the theory of person-environment fit and the concept of affordances, are applied in the analysis of the results of the design process. The participants were 16 8-year-old children living in a suburb of Helsinki, Finland. The results indicate that children’s design solutions are sensitive to the geographical context. The children generally enjoyed the Internet-based design game. The girls designed more affordances for simply being in peace, whereas the boys emphasized affordances for playing games. The study indicates that affordances can be applied as icons in design games. They also function as a viable concept in the operationalization of the personenvironment fit; however, the theory of environmental fit and its operationalization need further development and empirical testing with larger samples.

Key Words: child-friendly environments • participation • Internet game • affordances • person-environment fit

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