Page 132 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese

Architecture and Urbanism

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The intersection of culture and play: Evaluating

children’s play spaces in Xi’an’s parks using the
7Cs framework

2
1,2
1
2
Ke Chen , Chengyun Zhang , Mengyi Li , and Ruhizal Roosli *
1 School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
2 School of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology Huaqing College, Xi’an,
Shaanxi, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Urban China 2030. Past Trajectories, Current Trends, and
Future Challenges)

Abstract

With rapid urbanization, children’s play spaces in Chinese parks face challenges
related to functional monotony and a lack of cultural expression. This study examines
heritage parks in Xi’an, one of China’s most historically significant cities, as case
studies. Using a mixed-methods research approach and the 7Cs framework, we
*Corresponding author: systematically evaluate these spaces to assess their effectiveness in meeting cultural
Ruhizal Roosli
(ruhizal@usm.my) and functional needs. The findings highlight several key shortcomings in current
designs. First, an imbalance between static cultural displays and dynamic interactive
Citation: Chen, K., Zhang, C., elements limits children’s engagement and cultural immersion. Second, a lack of
Li, M., & Roosli, R. (2025). The
intersection of culture and play: exploratory and challenging activities fails to meet the developmental demands of
Evaluating children’s play spaces older children. Third, weak user participation mechanisms and inadequate feedback
in Xi’an’s parks using the 7Cs systems contribute to a misalignment between design intentions and actual user
framework. Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism, 7(3): needs. To address these challenges, this article proposes integrating dynamic and
8296. interactive cultural displays, introducing multi-level exploratory and challenging
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.8296 features to accommodate diverse age groups, and enhancing user engagement
Received: December 30, 2024 and feedback systems throughout the design process. These recommendations aim
1st revised: February 4, 2025 to balance cultural preservation with modern usability, providing both theoretical
insights and practical foundations for improving children’s play spaces in heritage
2nd revised: March 3, 2025 parks while inspiring similar global efforts.
Accepted: March 13, 2025
Published online: April 3, 2025 Keywords: Child-friendly city; Play spaces; 7Cs framework; Heritage park; Evaluation
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution- 1. Introduction
Non-Commercial 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all
non-commercial use, distribution, With the progression of global urbanization, public space design has increasingly
and reproduction in any medium, emphasized diversity and multifunctionality (UN-Habitat, 2013). As an essential
provided the original work is
properly cited. component of urban public spaces, outdoor play areas for children serve multiple
purposes, including promoting physical activity, cognitive development, and social
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with interaction (Dalpra, 2022; Wray et al., 2020; Yildirim et al., 2022). Within the context
regard to jurisdictional claims in of child-friendly city initiatives in China, enhancing the quality and functionality
published maps and institutional
affiliations. of children’s play spaces through innovative design has become a key focus in both

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.8296