Manifesto for a playful city
‘Seventy per cent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by the middle of this century’ (Klanten and Hubner, 2010:2). As cities continue to get more populated, more and more strain will...Read more
CiTC conference preview: ‘Let’s end zero-risk play’
When it comes to planning new city infrastructures, children’s needs are still being ignored. Worse still, they are being pampered with ‘risk-averse’ thinking. But acclaimed child play expert Tim Gill’s belief that things are changing...Read more
EU could reduce child road deaths with child-friendly policies
There is an urgent need for the European Commission to deliver its outstanding update of vehicle safety regulations as 8100 children died on EU Roads in the last ten years. That is the view of...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
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
For city kids with asthma, telemedicine and in-school care cut ER visits in half
Children with asthma in the Rochester City School District who received a combination of telemedicine support and school-based medication therapy were almost half as likely to need an emergency room or hospital visit for their...Read more
The relationship between play value and outdoor play spaces in Wuhan, China
In the city of Wuhan, improper planning policies and design concepts of residential areas have broken and even destroyed children’s outdoor play spaces, a recent research paper reveals. This has caused some physical and psychological...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
Child Friendly Places: improving communities for and with children
Resources that can be used by young children, and by adults with low literacy levels, are vital if the child-friendly city movement is to reach those communities that need it most. Here, Sruthi Atmakur-Javdekar of...Read more
Room for Ghent: planning the spatial future of an historic city
The host city for Child in the City 2016 has embraced the diverse challenges of planning its spatial future by drawing upon the ‘situational expertise’ of its most important stakeholders – the citizens themselves. including children and...Read more
Letters from children provide insights into the child friendly city
Children’s letters on what they find to be a child-friendly city can guide urban planning and enhance a spatially oriented understanding of children and politics. The child’s right to participation suggests encompassing children’s views as a...Read more
A toolkit for developing child friendly towns and cities
A child friendly city implements children’s rights in local policy. Cities can use the translated Unicef toolkit that consists of three steps: measuring the child friendliness – perception research with children – formulating a strategy....Read more
The child friendly city and the participation of children: the missing links in the urban planning system of Iran
In the modern world, most urban areas tend to be inhospitable places for children by default. Thus, urban planners need to give particular consideration to children’s rights and the concept of the child-friendly city (CFC)...Read more
The City of Ghent’s strategic plan to be a child and youth-friendly city
With more than 250.000 inhabitants, Ghent is the 3rd largest city of Belgium. In 2013, the newly elected city council announced its commitment to become the most child and youth-friendly city (CYFC) of the Flemish...Read more