An Analysis of Signs of security the Language of Landscape in Children Perception

One of the most critical issues in urban life is the need for security. Every child and young person has the right to grow up in an environment where they feel safe and secure. This issue has always been a focus of research in the "child-friendly city." Because children are considered an essential part of space users, and in their interaction with space, their mental image is shaped by the physical and non-physical properties of everyday living environments. While security is a complex issue with diverse social, economic, and cultural dimensions, the impact of environmental factors should not be ignored in a meeting of these needs. Nowadays, the issue of security in public spaces, especially in urban parks, have great importance and concern about recent events in these places, especially metropolitan parks, points out attention to the issue. Despite this significant population, it is not asked by children about their needs and desires, and they are not considered as seriously as citizens because they have no political power and no right to vote. "Nowadays, most local and municipal parks are designed for adults, despite children's need." In urban areas, parks and playgrounds are virtual spaces for children and their activities. The researchers believe that the proper design and correct use of the environment could prevent crime and improve life quality. This will be particularly important for more vulnerable children. Therefore, the present study investigates security objectively and subjectively by relying on the security of landscape language in parks and employing an approach based on stratification semiotics.Research Question: Is there a difference between girls and boys in perceiving landscape language's security measures? What is the priority of each of the natural, human-made, and socio-cultural strata? How is this difference observed in case studies?

The research method is descriptive-analytical. To collect data, library, and survey research (field studies) with the technique of interviewing and a researcher-made visual questionnaire were employed. Forty children at ages 7 to 12 years were questioned about the study of two cases of "Child-friendly Energy Park" and "Child-friendly Park" located in regions 22 and 18 of Tehran. The questionnaire's content validity was confirmed based on experts' ideas, and its reliability was obtained using Cronbach's alpha coefficient as 0.823. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-22 software.

Findings indicate differences in girls' and boys' perceptions of the degree of effects and prioritization of metrics of natural, human-made, and socio-cultural strata. Besides, the highest effect is allocated to the socio-cultural stratum. By considering different metrics of security codes in the landscape, the Child-friendly Park is prioritized in two human-made and socio-cultural strata, and there is no difference in the mean answers for the two parks in terms of the stratum of natural codes. Therefore what is essential in designing parks, under the attribute of "child-friendly" and designed for this specific target group of children, is supplying their satisfaction and security. Therefore, based on the results presented in the final model of the research, it is possible to take a step towards designing "child-friendly" parks with a "child-based" look and provide satisfaction and security for this group of space users.