CPC (Child Preceptor City): Revising CFC (Child Friendly City) Model in an Islamic Iranian Context

The idea of child friendly city, to reach child welfare, makes urban spaces proper for childrens` activities. Today mant countries apply child friendly city principles, but most designed urban spaces for children in Iran are other countries` preceding examples and experiences, with no regarding to cultural context. However, urban planning does not reach its goals unless all citizens` needs are included. Children need an environment to address and be challenged in it. A place has to encourage children to discover and develop their infornations. Islam not only pays attention to present needs of children, but also considers them in a path named “Perfection (Kamal)” and presents a plan to cross it. A designed place with attention to Islamic values has to be the equilibrium point of human different needs. In other words, material tools pay the way for reachimg spiritual aims. Islam divides children age range into three 7-years phases. Children need to be free and trained by playing in first 7 years. They need to learn hoe to recite Quran, also scientific lessons in second 7 years. The most effective factor on children behaviors is the environment here which highlights the role of urban spaces in child pedagogy. Third 7 years are the time for asking help from children and teach them Halal and Haram issues. Due to the importance of the relation between child and the environment in second 7 years, this research focuses on 6 to 12 years old children. It is obvious that there is no Islamic Iranian example of urban designing project that considers children as city members and their present and future needs along with growing up in the environment. Hence, this research is decided to find the answer of this question: How can neighborhoods open spaces affect training Islamic religious contents to children, as well as meeting their present needs? Studing religious, gnostic and philosophic resources, as theorithical basis, and by usig deductive strategy to set a theorethical model, also inductive strategy to test the model in field study, an Islamic Iranian model named “Child Preceptor City” is presented. According to this model, a proper city from Islamic perspective adopts content approach (the nature of childrens` needs) as well as procedure approach (the process of children growth) and these two approaches together turn a city to an active preceptor. Findings show that there are five criteria forming child preceptor city structure: training contents (Responsibility, God-contentment, Endeavour, Moderation, Loving God, Believe in resurrection, Purposefulness, Surveillance, God-obedience); training methods (Theater, Story telling, Contemplation, Field Trip, Encouragement and Punishment, Observation, Having a role model, Kindness, Consulting, Preaching); environmental features that are divided in four categories: Geographical/Physical (Physical realm, Physical desirability, The least physical risks, Natural elements, Affordable setting, Light and shadow), Functional (Priority of function to the form, Interacting with other children, Family motivation to play outside the house), Perceptual (Social support, Presence of an acquainted adult, Considering path and landmark, prior to other cognitive elements, Mental realm, Challenging and complex environment, Discoverable environment), Behavioral (Various behavior settings, Regular freely playing, No restrictive environmental rules); cultural environment; and characteristics of a special age group. The relations between them are defined as: training contents are transferred to children with specific characteristics due to their age range, by training methods; with the help of environmental features, in a cultural bed. Contributed environmental indexes in transferring religious contents to childrens, were ascertained by Delphi method. To answer the research main question, six middle class neighborhoods in Tabriz city were selected in which the relation between environmental indexes and religious contents were studied by indirect observation and semi organized interviews with 72 childrens 6 to 12 years old. As findings show, environment can play role in informal pedagogy and transferring religious contents to children, besides formal pedagogy at school or home. It can be either obstructive or empowering in a way that environmental empowering indexes ought to be identified while obstructive ones need to be omitted. “Feasibility of having a personal realm” and “social support” as empowering indexes, have the most frequencies in target neighborhoods; whereas “various behavior settings”, “affordable settings”, “social and physical risks” and “complex and challenging environment” as obstructing indexes, have the least frequencies. “Family motivation to play outside the house”, “the least physical risks” and “designed park” are environmental superior indexes in Parvaz district. “Presence of natural elements in parks” and “the least social risks” distinguish Zaferanieh district from others. “Physical desirability” and “Presence of natural elements in the neighborhood” are strength points of Yaqchian. “Off-neighborhood land uses” in Golshahr, “Physical risks” in Vilashahr, “Family dependency on car” in Yaqchian, “Family having control on children” in Zaferanieh, “Social risks” in Parvaz and “Family disagreement with playing outside the house” in Sahand district, are obstructive indexes which limit child-environment interaction and consequently, complicate receiving religious instructions.