Child in/of/around the City : Design for an indicator species

How can architecture help children access urban space, and take their first steps into the public sphere? Child independent mobility, the freedom that children have to travel in their local environments unaccompanied by adults, is essential to children’s development and wellbeing. Increasingly, children are gaining access to these environments at an older age, reflecting changing environments and social norms, as well as adult fears about urban space. In response to current research in child independent mobility, this thesis proposes a compact, street-oriented student family housing project at UBC that supports and enhances children’s access to the city. This thesis engages with architecture as a physical and psychological threshold to the outdoors, as well as a necessary site of retreat for the integration of “thoughts, memories and dreams” (Bachelard 1958). The final design proposal attempts to address several of the ongoing challenges of urban density: how to live in close quarters, how to interact with strangers and neighbors, and how to connect to the outdoors.Applied Science, Faculty ofArchitecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School ofUnreviewedGraduat