Famed Mexico City fountain gets play makeover
The transformation of a historic Mexico City fountain into a children’s playground has shown what can be done with underused urban spaces. The makeover – albeit a temporary one – was the winning entry in the...Read more
Big picture, small cities: why urban development needs national governments
City governments can play a crucial role in reducing national emissions, even amounting to 15 percent of the reductions needed to avoid the most serious levels of climate change. More and more, cities are acting independently...Read more
Sharjah is Unicef’s newest ‘child-friendly city’
Unicef has named Sharjah as the first ‘Child Friendly City’ in the Arabian Gulf. The accolade recognises the United Arab Emirates city’s commitment to developing strategies with children squarely in mind. To be accepted as child...Read more
Cities can use dashboards to make better decisions about early childhood
At a time when more of the world’s children are growing up in cities than ever before, the Bernard van Leer Foundation is working with city governments around the world to find new and scalable...Read more
A report from the NACTO Designing Cities Conference
Now in its sixth year, the NACTO Designing Cities Conference brought together 800 officials, planners, and practitioners to Chicago to advance the state of transportation in cities through plenaries, workshops, walkshops and sessions. The Designing...Read more
Building the prefab schools of the future
Prefab technology is driving the development of new classrooms in Australia that are a world away from the old “portables” you may remember. Access to schools with high-quality classrooms and safe learning environments is something every...Read more
Growing up in the city: Putting children first creates cities for all
A child-friendly city is a city for everyone, young and old. This is because a place that works for children needs to be walkable, safe, green, and rich in opportunities for play and adventure. It...Read more
Hong Kong needs inclusive playgrounds for disabled children
A pilot study reveals a number of existing playgrounds in Hong Kong lack inclusive facilities that cater to the needs of disabled children. The research also highlights obstacles and opportunities for change. Researchers found no...Read more
The City of Changsha is China’s first child friendly city
The City of Changsha with support from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy is the first city in China to include child-friendly initiatives in their city planning. The City of Changsha in Central China is...Read more
Teaching children about sustainability makes a city cleaner for everyone
Sustainability and the green movement often find themselves associated with the political left, yet there are many practical and economic reasons for sustainable living. Without trying to push one political agenda or another — teaching...Read more
Are these the most child friendly public spaces?
Canadian Urbanist, Jillian Clover of This City Life invited her readers to share their favourite child friendly public spaces. She shares some of the results here. Every weekday, I pass through Vancouver’s main public space, Robson Square,...Read more
New book on children and sustainable urbanism
A new book, Children Living in Sustainable Built Environments, published this month by Routledge, takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of how sustainable urban developments affect children and young people. Routledge this month publishes Children Living in...Read more
National housing body calls for focus on play
A leading national housing body in the UK yesterday published a new report, Making Spaces for Play, which could lead to a more child-friendly approach to new developments. Adrian Voce reports. The UK’s National House Building Council...Read more
Everyday freedoms, and the networks to enjoy them
In this extract from their new publication, Cities Alive: designing for urban childhoods, the built environment specialists Arup suggest that children’s everyday freedoms, and the physical infrastructure to enable them, are the key concepts for...Read more