CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The following conceptual framework aims to acknowledge the aforementioned central ideas, adopting a socio-ecological model at its core. According to Badland et al. (2016) this model incorporates multiple aspects in a non-linear relational system of loops and flows. In this sense, it is flexible enough to include the particular aspects of a community or a given context and integrate further findings, dimensions and concepts. While several studies have implemented this approach, most have focused on linear connections, overlooking the interdependencies between them. On the individual level, there has been considerable emphasis on parents and how their decision-making influences CIM. As a consequence, children’s impressions have held a secondary role, which fails to accurately inform childfriendly policies and prevent children from having ‘… active, emotional and imaginative engagements in and with their environments’ (Ross 2007, p. 389 cited by Badland et al., 2016). This discussion aims to place children at the heart of CIM studies. To do so, it acknowledges the all-encompassing nature of the child, the caretaker, and the household as well as the social and physical neighbourhood environment in the promotion of CIM. Building upon the previous literature findings and inspired by Weeb Jamme, Bahl and Banerjee (2018), the model incorporates Johansson et al. (2020)’s environmental psychology concepts of affordance and attachment as mediators and translators of children’s experiences of mobility and play (Figure 2).