The Importance of Place in Early Childhood Development
written By Connor LittleHumans are shaped by the environments around us. A good day can be defined by a trip to the park, a foul smell can alter our emotional memory of an unpleasant space, and places we spend hours of time in are proven to have a direct impact on our mood and behavior. These principles of spatial memory and emotion are well researched in the fields of architecture, psychology, and early childhood development.
As children, we have incredibly high neuroplasticity – meaning our brains are highly adaptable to changes in our environment. Early brain development is influenced by a reciprocal relationship between genetic programming and experiences. Exposure to repeated stimuli builds up common pathways within a child’s brain. This reciprocity builds a brain architecture that will influence an individual’s emotional regulation, social skills, and cognitive ability. This development in early years is crucial as it becomes increasingly more difficult to alter these pathways as time goes on. Early childhood educators are well versed in strategies for fostering this development, and their classrooms serve as one of many environments that lay the foundation for brain development. The quality of a child’s developmental environment has lifelong impacts on health and wellbeing, so in turn they should be designed to create positive, lasting impressions.
In this article, we will explore the role of design in Early Childhood Education (ECE) spaces, the social and financial barriers that make designing equitable spaces difficult, and strategies for engaging with curriculum to create a holistic developmental environment.
Table of Contents:
The Social Importance of ECE
ECE Curriculum & Supportive Design Strategies
Barriers to ECE
The Social Importance of ECE
Our brain’s capacity for change decreases as we age, meaning children are highly impressionable, and therefore at higher risk to negative environmental changes, especially when experienced repeatedly or over long periods of time. This repeated exposure to negative stimuli creates pathways that become increasingly more difficult to alter in the future.
Negative environmental factors, such as noise pollution, air pollution, lack of greenspace, and urban heat are all design problems that are proven to have negative effects on children’s long-term health. These are also problems that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
We must understand that developmental environments include all environments a child experiences. So, even if we aren’t designing an ECE classroom, we must consider the needs of children. Safe and affordable housing, streetscapes with shade and protected traffic crossings, and responsible land use practices can all directly impact childhood development, and in-turn, overall societal wellbeing.
ECE experts argue that introducing ECE as early as possible in marginalized communities builds social resilience over time, improving life quality for disadvantaged groups, and reducing costly spending on social infrastructures and programming. Families who struggle financially are often cut off from ECE programs– meaning the children at the highest risk are often cut off from the long-term benefits of ECE. This creates a self-fulfilling feedback loop, keeping disadvantaged populations at risk and limiting upward mobility. Not only are these programs beneficial to quality of life for disadvantaged communities, they are also cost effective when compared to other social programs. It’s been proven that investment in ECE programming yields a positive return from costly investments further down the road from educational, health, and criminal justice institutions.
ECE Curriculum & Supportive Design Strategies
There are various educational philosophies that center early childhood development in their practices. In this section we’ll explore some popular approaches and how they address the design of the developmental environment:
- Reggio Emilia Approach
- Montessori Principles
- Nature-Based Learning/ Biophilia
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
\Reggio Emilia Approach
The Reggio Emilia Approach originated in Italy in the late nineteenth century as an empathetic approach to preschool education. One of the core values of the Reggio Emilia Approach is the environment, often referred to as “the third teacher.” Classrooms are thoughtfully designed to inspire exploration, communication, and collaboration. Natural light, open spaces, and aesthetically pleasing materials invite children to engage with their surroundings meaningfully. The environment is ever-evolving to reflect the interests and projects of the children, with materials organized in an accessible, intentional way that encourages independence and inquiry. Displaying children’s work also reinforces a sense of ownership and value, fostering a culture of respect and reflection.
\Montessori Principles
Montessori classrooms are structured to support child-directed learning by offering freedom of choice within clearly defined boundaries. The environment is crafted with developmentally appropriate materials arranged on low shelves, allowing children to independently select tasks that match their interests and developmental stage. Each area of the classroom—such as practical life, sensorial, math, and language—is designed to cultivate concentration, order, and autonomy. The layout supports self-paced learning and uninterrupted work cycles, with teachers observing and guiding rather than directing, enabling children to build confidence, responsibility, and intrinsic motivation.
\Nature-Based Learning/ Biophilia
Nature Based Learning environments incorporate elements of the natural world. Whether through outdoor classrooms, or interior treatments that mimic natural materials and conditions, biophilia is considered to be conducive to promoting positive emotional responses to space. Psychologically, there are benefits in closeness to nature, and in our overstimulating digital world – exposing children to natural sensory experiences can promote calmness.
\Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
UDL refers to a set of considerations designed to prioritize the needs of children across a varying degree of needs, abilities, and learning styles. Variation in experiences, senses, and textures that are presented in a controlled way can provide more opportunities for children to connect with the space in a way that promotes individualized development. Variation in tactile and sensory experiences are important for cognitive development, and understanding this can help us to design spaces more accessible to children with different developmental needs.
Barriers to Early Childhood Education (ECE)
ECE programming is often only available for higher-income families who can afford to pay higher rates for education. Limitations in public funding vary state by state, but there is a general lack of public investment in ECE programs when compared to K-12 systems, meaning high price tags for parents are needed to offset the costs of operations. These funding gaps create unaffordable tuition for parents and high costs for operators. From a design perspective, architects are often met with budgetary restrictions that can limit our approach to more innovative design goals. It’s important for policy makers, investors, and public agencies to support the development of ECE programming in communities. Without an interdisciplinary approach, financial burdens become a serious barrier for ensuring ECE access for all.
Conclusion
It has been proven that environmental conditions play a fundamental role in early childhood development, and designers should take care to consider spatial impacts on long-term development. A child’s world is designed across multiple scales – the home, the classroom, the street, and the city all compose the developmental environment. If designers are to envision a more just and equitable society, supporting ECE for children of all socioeconomic backgrounds should be at the forefront of our efforts. If we support the needs of children, we are investing in the future of our society.