Linking Outdoor Public Space Characteristics to Children’s Perceived Safety in Urban Communities: An Environment–Behavior–Perception Framework

Outdoor public spaces in urban communities are essential for children’s physical and mental well-being, as opportunities for free exploration, social interaction, and healthy development are closely related to how safe children perceive these environments to be. However, systematic frameworks for evaluating community outdoor public spaces and locally adapted instruments for assessing children’s perceived safety remain limited, and the associations between spatial characteristics and perceived safety are not yet fully understood. This study integrates questionnaire survey data from residential communities in Wuhan, China. It develops an evaluation system for community outdoor public spaces based on naturalness, functionality, protection, and attractiveness, and constructs a measurement system for children’s perceived safety covering motor vehicle traffic, walking and cycling, and social interaction environments. Within a physical environment–behavioral activity–psychological perception framework, multiple linear regression models and bootstrap analysis are used to examine associations between parent-reported assessments of community outdoor public spaces and children’s self-reported perceived safety, as well as exploratory indirect associations involving outdoor activity. The results show that diversity of supporting facilities, age-appropriateness of movable toys, and terrain richness are positively associated with perceived safety, whereas parents’ ratings of surveillance adequacy, age-appropriateness of fixed play equipment, accessibility to water and sand, diversity of natural materials, and suitability for all age groups are negatively associated with perceived safety. Outdoor activity duration shows exploratory indirect associations linking spatial appeal and the variety of public spaces with perceived safety. Based on these findings, the study proposes planning considerations for daily activity support, facility adaptability, and children’s outdoor experiences, and extends research on child-friendly urban environments by providing context-specific evidence for improving community outdoor public spaces.