Floating dorms could help students rent in city centers
A lack of affordable housing in city centers prompts some university students to rent far from the core, which can keep them from contributing to communities around their urban-based campuses. A Copenhagen housing startup thinks...Read more
In pursuit of a safe walk to school, Oslo gamifies street design
A new app in Oslo gathers feedback on pedestrian safety from a group not often asked their opinion on urban planning: schoolchildren. The free Traffic Agent app allows children to send reports on safety hazards they...Read more
Vancouver is making vibrant public spaces out of back alleys
Over 200 of Vancouver’s downtown blocks are bisected by an alleyway, but only one of those alleys — or “laneways” as Vancouverites call them — has a foosball court. As of last week, the alley...Read more
Children and the built environment
Empowered by JES: From outreach to a competence based approach of youth participation in the making of public space along the Brussels Canal. To increase youth participation in the urban development of Tour & Taxis, JES Stadslabo...Read more
Can a child participate? Defining participation boundaries in urban planning
It is not common practice to engage children into planning process. From the point of view of the researcher, however, the very fact that children are often ignored makes their perspective structurally very important. They...Read more
An urban planners guide to engaging with children
Children are the group in society, arguably, most sensitive to their surroundings and most affected by changes in their local environment. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines in international law a...Read more
The power of play in planning with immigrants
In this interview with urban planner, James Rojas, he describes his approach to engaging immigrant communities through the power of creativity and imagination. In 2013, an estimated 200 million people migrated to a new home in...Read more
Residents of Istanbul bring play back to the street
The residents of one of the most densely populated areas of Istanbul have secured a new ‘play street’ for their children: closed to traffic and where children can again run free. A recent study of...Read more
Storytelling project inspires urban planners in Italy
Urban planners in Italy have found that engaging children and young people with traditional storytelling and imaginative communication projects can help to engage them in the future shape of their cities, and in turn provide...Read more
Research highlights benefits of children’s involvement in design
A 3-year research project entitled: “Children Transforming Spatial Design: Creative Encounters with Children”, aims to identify the benefits of the interactions between the designer and the child during the planning process. The research is conducted...Read more
Urban regeneration processes should be planned with children
According to the widely accepted definition, urban regeneration is a holistic approach that aims to improve cities by improving their economic, physical and social environmental conditions. Yet Turkey still has various problems with urban regeneration principles,...Read more
Reclaiming public space through play
Can playing be used as a tool to reclaim cities for people; involving both children and adults in a process to re-inhabit public space? We can assert, yes, it can. The experience of “FLPP. Fronte...Read more
10 ways to build a city for children
The Vancouver-based urbanist, Jillian Glover, an advisor to the Canadian government who runs the ‘This City Life’ blog-site, has identified the ten features that she believes are the key to building child-friendly cities. Suggesting that,...Read more
Child Friendly Cities Add Value to Resilience Planning
In December, 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation initiated 100 Resilient Cities, with the goal of developing a network of cities around the world to “become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are...Read more