THE MEANING OF SPACE IN CHILDREN’S SOCIAL INTRACTION AT COMMUNAL AREA OF RUSUNAWA (Case Study : Rusunawa Jatinegara Barat and Rusunawa Sadang Serang)

• Main Author: ANGGRAENI PUTRI (NIM: 27117067), APRILIA
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/25708
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

In 2015, Indonesia was faced with forced evictions at several points of the big city and, in the end, thousands of people experienced relocation to the flat. The existence of this relocation causes environmental changes from dense settlements to vertical housing which is experienced by children. They are faced with an immediate environment in the apartment environment so that various aspects of life change, especially the social aspects that are closely related to the communal area. The social aspects concerning the needs of social interaction relate to the surrounding context, especially the context of the physical environment. When the physical environment changes, the opportunity to interact in children life can be different. The relationship between children and their physical environment cannot be separated from emotional involvement when children feel the physical environment. When emotions are involved, meaning is formed in the child's mind. Changes in the environment and potential differences in opportunities for interaction allow for the formation of new meanings in the communal area of rusunawa. This study aims to undestand the meaning of space given by children to the communal area of rusunawa, by looking at how they use communal areas and the influence of physical settings in social interactions that occur. The research method used is qualitative with the type of multiple case study and descriptive analysis procedures. Data collection techniques are observation and interview. Research subjects were children aged 2 to 13 years. The results show that meaning can be formed due to the relationship between children and their physical environment. The meaning of space by children begins to be seen from the age of 5 years. Children under 5 years of age have not been able to use the communal area optimally because they are still under strict supervision by their parents or older relationships. There are 4 meanings that found in the relationship between children and physical environment. The first meaning is found at the mesosystem level, the experience of children in their old environment influences how children see the freedom to interact with the community around the flat or in the external scope. Relocation distance, number of child relations, stimulants that driving some activities and exploration distance influence the formation of this meaning. The second meaning is found at the level of the microsystem and can be seen from the child's perception of freedom of interaction in the communal area of the flat or in the internal scope. The physical environment of a communal area that does not guarantee freedom of activity and expression can lead to feelings of confusion and finally the communal area is perceived negatively. The third meaning is related to the level of intensity of children in certain communal areas that can create a sense of comfort when interacting. The selection of this area is influenced by flexibility, zone separation, activity variation, location and attractive factors. While the fourth meaning relates to the child's response to the physical elements in the communal area. The form of response found is hidden affordance, perceived affordance and territoriality. <br /> <br />