Graphical reading of Bolu city from children's eyes

This study is based on the evaluation of primary and secondary school students' graphic drawings of the city of Bolu, based on perceptual development. The study was conducted with 24 students from grades 1-3 and 5-7 at Bolu 50th Year İzzet Baysal Primary School and 50th Year İzzet Baysal Secondary School. Drawings from three girls and three boys from each grade were analyzed using the Photovoice method to determine whether Bolu is a child-friendly city. Various observations and studies have shown that children best express their urban perceptions through drawings. Therefore, we examine the periodic changes in children's developmental stages. Children's perceptual changes can be observed in three stages: the schematic stage, the apparent naturalism stage, and the realism stage. This study, based on these three stages, attempts to explore whether Bolu is child-friendly, the evolution of children's perceptions of the city, and the city's structure through the depiction of children's urban perceptions. As is well known, children's expectations vary across age groups. The study aimed to measure children's perceptions of the city and the environment through representative drawings, in line with their developmental stages. The findings of the study were analyzed using criteria derived from the work of various experts working on child-friendly cities and an evaluation of UNICEF principles. As a result of this analysis, graphical readings were conducted on the children's drawings, and perceptions of the child-friendly city based on the representative images were coded according to predefined criteria and evaluated using a situational approach methodology with three categories (present/absent/uncertain). Generally speaking, the pictorial representations expressed by all participating children indicate that the city meets the criteria for a moderately child-friendly city.