What makes a child-friendly city? Redesigning safer and healthier urban spaces for young people
Children are often under-prioritized or even disregarded in urban planning and design. It’s estimated that up to 500 children die daily in road crashes around the world; thousands more incur injuries and psychological trauma from collisions...Read more
Reclaiming the streets of Barcelona
Every morning, Norma Nebot used to rush her children into the car for the stressful school run on roads clogged with traffic and pollution. Although it was only a short journey, the cars speeding along...Read more
Sunshine Coast shows the way to create good design loved by communities
Our collective retreat to the safety of our homes during the COVID-19 lockdown has provoked an awakening to the value of local areas for work, play and connecting.Read more
New NGO is creating safer streets for Nairobi schoolchildren
The journey to school – on foot or bicycle – for children in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, is no longer as hazardous as it once was thanks to a new development project aimed at creating...Read more
Designing Streets for Kids guide will be ‘global benchmark’ for change
A major new design initiative aims to establish a global baseline for planning urban streets with the needs of children as number one priority.Read more
Public places through kids’ eyes – what do they value?
Children are too rarely asked their perspectives on public spaces. Traditionally, adults make choices for children, particularly about how they live and play.Read more
Vancouver’s youth urged to help shape the city’s future
How do you map out a city’s future? For decision-makers in Vancouver, it could turn out to be as easy as child’s play.Read more
Young Explorers: How video can encourage empathy for toddlers
“Ahaan just took off and sprinted down this alleyway in this big market, towards the street where there was a ton of traffic,” says filmmaker, Jacob Krupnick, as he recalls the hairy moment in Pune,...Read more
Children in polluted cities ‘more likely to suffer from obesity’
Children living in air pollution-plagued cities with high population density, ‘unwalkable’ infrastructure and who have parents who smoke are more likely to become obese, say US researchers.Read more
Australia and UK partner to build better cities
Australia and the UK have brought together the very best minds in urban planning to offer a vision of healthier and sustainable cities for the future.Read more
I redesigned a school playground for my PhD – and the children got better marks learning outside
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the education of at least 1.5 billion school students. That’s more than 90 per cent of the world’s children. Although many schools in the west, along with private schools in...Read more
Bernard van Leer Foundation report highlights Urban 95 successes
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Six ways to make city streets safer for pedestrians – and children
For many city leaders, more cars and more highways mean better transportation. And during the current pandemic, fear of the spread of COVID-19 is pushing some to turn to private vehicles.Read more
City designers looking to unlock kids’ creative visions
Architects are unlocking the creativity of children to help redesign and give colour to visions of cities beyond the coronavirus measures. Whether it’s amazing skyscrapers or sprawling green spaces, children are creating their own cities while...Read more