Housing, neighbourhood and child wellbeing in Barcelona: a participatory study

Background

Housing and neighborhood environments are key determinants of children’s health and development, serving as primary settings for family and social relationships, rest, comfort, and play. Early-life housing and environmental conditions influence long-term vulnerability to illness. Moreover, housing commodification has contributed to housing crises in many urban contexts, limiting access to certain social groups and exacerbating social and health inequalities. This study aims to explore how children experience housing and neighborhood environments and how these shape their health and wellbeing.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative participatory study with around 150 children aged 10–12 from three deprived neighborhoods in Barcelona, Spain. Using an experiential game, children identified everyday situations and places associated with wellbeing or distress. Data were analyzed through a situated qualitative framework covering four housing (economic, legal, material, symbolic) and two neighborhood (physical environment, community) domains.

Results

At home, children linked wellbeing to family presence, safety and having personal space for emotional regulation and autonomy. Stressors included economic hardship, poor physical comfort (like noise, temperature or clutter), and the need to assume adult-like roles. In the neighborhood, wellbeing depends on opportunities for play and peer interaction, emphasizing the usability of public space over its availability. Violence and conflict were perceived as threats that generate fear, restrict mobility and limit children’s everyday use of space.

Conclusions

Housing and neighborhood conditions influence child wellbeing through intertwined material, social and emotional pathways. Integrating children’s perspectives via participatory methods can provide policy-relevant evidence for urban, housing and social interventions aimed at reducing health inequalities in cities facing housing insecurity and territorial inequality.

Key messages

• Housing and neighborhood conditions shape children’s wellbeing: safety, personal space, and family and peer support protect, while economic stress, poor housing conditions, and violence harm.

• Participatory research with children can inform urban and housing policies to reduce health inequalities.