Operationalizing SDG 17 through affordances: A partnership framework for children’s wellbeing in urban landscapes.
Author(s): 1 Ar. Shefali Deepak Arora, 2 Dr. Bhavesh Shah, 3 Dr. Swati Sahasrabudhe,
Authors Affiliations:
- 1Landscape architect, Research scholar, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, India2Associate professor, School of Industrial Design, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, India
3 Head of Department, Landscape Architecture Department, MKSSS’s BNCA, Pune, India
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 underlines partnerships as a foundation for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Within urban landscapes, partnerships are dynamic necessities in achieving children’s well-being, a role yet underrated in sustainability. This paper assimilates Gibson’s Affordance Theory and Theory of Perception to establish how children’s contact with landscapes is shaped by the opportunities (affordances) that parks and open spaces offer. Ecological, social, and cultural affordances such as spaces for play, exploration, and social interaction are of utmost importance for nurturing children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical growth. Nevertheless, understanding these affordances, involves a cross-professional association between municipal authorities, landscape architects, educators, NGOs, and communities. By supporting affordances with SDG 17, the study discusses that partnerships act as enablers to design, maintain, and govern child-friendly landscapes that are comprehensive, ecologically resilient, and culturally responsive. Through a literature-based and policy-driven approach, this paper proposes a theoretical structure that positions affordances not only as individual experiences of perception and achievement but also as mutual consequences of collaborative urban design. In doing so, it focuses on how SDG 17 can actualize child well-being in sustainable landscapes through ecological design, perception, and partnership.
Ar. Shefali Deepak Arora, Dr. Bhavesh Shah, Dr. Swati Sahasrabudhe, (2025); Operationalizing SDG 17 through affordances: A partnership framework for children’s well-being in urban landscapes, International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, ISSN(O): 2455-0620, Vol-11, Issue-12, Pp.166-176. Available on – https://www.ijirmf.com/
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