Research in children’s outdoor experiences is a rapidly growing field of investigation together with the increasing interest in the problems associated with rapid urbanization. Although there are studies that document positive and negative consequences of the built environment on children, children’s use of urban environments need to be investigated further in cities with fast urbanization rate where children are at a disadvantage especially given the fact that technology. The aim of this thesis is to understand through the eyes of children the intercorrelated relationship between physical characters of urban environments and the way outdoor environments are used. Therefore, a multi-site field study is conducted in five different urban zones with different physical and demographical characteristics (central, gated community, squatter settlement, mass housing and point-block settlement) in İzmir, Turkey which has high rates of urbanization and population growth. The study follows a mixed-method approach. The participants included 370 fourth grade primary school children and 258 parents. Even though the living environments selected for this dissertation vary in terms of physical qualities and demographic characteristics, 77% of children reported to prefer spend their free time outdoors. However, the study provides evidence to link children’s preferences regarding place and duration of use, and the way they use outdoor environments vary among the urban zones studied. The findings of the dissertation is linked to the growing literature on the subject with the aim to contribute to the improvement of children’s environments in cities, and the related policy-making efforts worldwide. Keywords: Urban environment, children and outdoors, children’s outdoor experience, İzmir-Turkey