Children's Meanings of Third Places for Leisure in Jakarta's Low-Income Neighbourhoods

In leisure studies, research investigating leisure meanings has focused mainly on the extent to which a particular experience satisfies an individual’s need for time away from work or other duties. Yet, little attention is given to how a place can offer leisure meanings for its users. This article investigates ways in which children’s experiences within two low-income neighbourhoods offer leisure meanings. Combining concepts of play, third places and leisure meanings, this chapter offers a new insight into places where children from the Global South spend their leisure time in their neighbourhood and how they attach meaning to these places. Within the context of a broader research project, play was found to be the predominant theme for children’s leisure activities, which informs the focus of this chapter on where and how children play within their neighbourhood environments. Thirty-four children from two low-income neighbourhoods in Jakarta were invited to participate in drawing activities and daily conversations to identify third places in which they play and their physical and social characteristics. Children’s answers and drawings were analysed according to the ‘leisure meanings’ they attached to certain places or ways in which these places offer them experiences of passing time, exercising choice, escaping pressure, and achieving fulfilment. Children identified two types of third places valuable for their play: (1) built third places and (2) pop-up third places. The third places are unique to children’s needs and the circumstances of their leisure pursuits while living in urban poverty; thus, each place has different consequences on the quality of children’s play. Insights from this study contribute to our understanding of (re)designing child-friendly neighbourhoods in the Global South, which often face challenges in providing inclusive yet affordable leisure facilities for children.