Spaces for the Unseen: Reframing Safe Routes to School as Third Places for Children

Abstract

This thesis examines how transportation infrastructure, as a component of the built environment, has historically contributed to social exclusion and continues to shape patterns of inclusion and marginalization, particularly for children. Through a thematic and interdisciplinary literature review, the study synthesizes research on children's well-being, transport systems, and built environment evaluation, identifying a critical gap in the ability to systematically measure the social and experiential dimensions of mobility. Building on this approach, the research develops a conceptual framework that operationalizes third place qualities into measurable spatial indicators, linking abstract social concepts to observable conditions in the built environment. By positioning SRTS as a form of social infrastructure, the thesis illustrates how transport planning can move beyond technical performance metrics toward more socially responsive evaluation and design strategies. Ultimately, the study argues that operationalizing third place theory provides a systematic means of understanding and enhancing children's social well-being within everyday mobility environments. In doing so, it reframes transport systems not only as a means for movement, but as critical spaces for advancing inclusion, interaction, and belonging in the built environment.