The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People (ePub)

Janet Loebach is an environmental design researcher and consultant hailing from Ontario, Canada. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis (http://dea.human.cornell.edu/) at Cornell University. She received a Master of Environmental Design from the School of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University, and a PhD in Children's, Urban, and Health Geographies from the Department of Geography at Western University. She is a registered Professional Civil Engineer (Ontario) and the Principal Consultant for Thrive Design Consulting. Her research and practice focuses on children's perception and use of their everyday environments, and the socio-environmental factors which influence children's behavior and well-being. Other areas of expertise include assessment and design of natural and built play and learning environments for children. She also has extensive experience with participatory, child-led and community-based design and planning processes. She currently serves as Vice President of the International Play Association (Canada) and as Co-Chair of the Children, Youth & Environments Network of the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).

Sarah Little is a registered landscape architect and an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Oklahoma. She holds an MLA and a PhD in Design, both from North Carolina State University. Her professional practice primarily consisted of high-end residential landscapes; children's environments at museums, nature centers, parks, and schools; and park master plans with an emphasis on community participation and environmental justice. After almost 12 years of practicing as a landscape architect, she decided to shift her focus toward research and pursue a PhD. As a researcher, she works to understand the influence of the physical environment on human behavior and development. Her current research interests involve children's autonomous