The Impact of Living in High-rises for the Cognitive Development of Early Childhood in Sri Lanka

Abstract

High-rise buildings have become a popular strategy for accommodating population growth in urban areas in Sri Lanka. Each and every building has different characters and personalities that offer different experiences to a person in their daily lives, but the most vivid to sharpen their psychological and social behavioral qualities is their home or permanent living space and surrounding characters. Different factors such as age, gender, educational level, economic status and social cultural background can be considered to categorize people. The main consideration in this research is the age. Childhood, puberty, adulthood and old age are the four main stages of human life. This study has been carried out to find the impact of living in high-rises during the early childhood. The age category was addressed throughout this analysis will be the age group from 1 to 5 years. Purpose for the gathering information three well-known nurseries were evaluated under Interview guideline for teachers and list of activities for children. Collected data were analyzed by case study approach and presented through descriptive statistics. Findings of this research indicate that living in high-rises during early childhood impacts negatively for the physical, psychological and psych-social development of the child. Recommended options that future architects can follow to minimize above issue have suggested in the end of this thesis.