Impacts of Housing and Community Environments on Children’s Independent Mobility: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Rationale: Homes and communities are the most important spaces where people live, work, and recreate on a daily basis. They are especially impactful for children, who have limited mobility and rely more on their immediate surroundings. Limited studies have linked housing and community environments with children’s independent mobility (CIM), implying potential influences on child development. But recent decades have witnessed a steep decline in CIM, while it is unclear what the specific environmental barriers are and how design can help.