Keeping our cities child-friendly as society ages
Who do we design our cities for? As fertility rates plummet, and the majority of our population moves into older age brackets, are we still thinking about how developers, architects, councils and town planners accommodate...Read more
What happens when kids help design our cities
An innovative program in Colorado incorporates children’s ideas into city planning for friendlier, greener, and more inclusive spaces. What would cities look like if children had a say in their design? They would certainly be friendlier,...Read more
City temperatures and city economics, a hidden relationship between sun and wind and profits
Urban design undoubtedly influences the urban economy. A simple thing like designing an area to make it more walkable can boost local business profits. This can also increase real estate value, create more and better...Read more
Introducing and sustaining learning landscapes in urban environments
Early childhood is a critical stage for healthy brain development. While good public policy and public health have important roles to play in improving outcomes, architect Itai Palti, director of Studio Hume and designer of...Read more
Vertical housing environments for children, youth and families
During the Antwerp seminar on Children in the Sustainable City, a round table on children living in high rise buildings was organized. Why high-rise as a theme in a seminar on sustainable futures? Cities all...Read more
A child led approach to designing healthy and child friendly places
Belfast Healthy Cities has created a teaching resource to support a child led, creative approach to designing healthy and child friendly places. The teaching resource ‘Healthy Places, Healthy Children’ was created to educate children about the...Read more
Shaping sustainable cities for children
The countdown to the Child in the City International Seminar in Antwerp continues. With that in mind, we present the second part of our interview with keynote speaker, Jens Aerts. In this article, Aerts discusses...Read more
The urban development expert in you and me
Jens Aerts will give his keynote presentation at the Child in the City International Seminar in Antwerp next month. His keynote is titled ‘Shaping a sustainable urban future for and by children’. In this interview,...Read more
Our cities fall short on sustainability, but planning innovations offer local solutions
Australia’s sprawling cities present many challenges to sustainability, but planning innovations can help achieve at least half of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Thirty years after the landmark Brundtland report, the debate on urban sustainability...Read more
The commercialisation of child friendly cities and other challenges
During the upcoming Child in the City seminar in Antwerp, Sven De Visscher will be part of the roundtable discussion on qualitative vertical housing environments for children. In this interview, Sven gives us insight into his work,...Read more
Green spaces help combat loneliness but they demand investment
Urban green spaces – including parks, woodlands, riverbanks, and gardens – are an essential part of a web of physical and mental well-being. They provide spaces to socialise and opportunities to connect with the natural...Read more
Urban planning can be elitist, but art empowers people to reimagine their city’s future – artist’s view
From crises in housing and public space, to social unrest due to austerity measures and environmental destruction – in this era of urban upheaval, city leaders often turn to art as a way of empowering...Read more
Urban planning for children in Ho Chi Minh City
Last summer 275 children from 8 to 14 years joined a summer programme that introduced them to urban planning in Ho Chi Minh City. The children designed and planned smarter and more child-friendly areas in...Read more
5 Cities show what urban transformation really looks like
Urbanization is changing the face of the planet – for better and for worse. City populations, GDP and investment are increasing exponentially. At the same time, carbon emissions are rising, more and more people are living in...Read more