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Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters .
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Community gardens in central London provide outdoor opportunities for local families. Photo by John Sturrock/Courtesy of Arup
Other recommended interventions include bus and tram stops that invite creative play, such as a pilot bus stop in Singapore that features a swing and a rack of books for perusal. The report offers a myriad of other strategies, from planting community gardens to creating infrastructure that anticipates climate change, like stormwater parks that can be used in both flooded and dry conditions.
One consistent theme, says Arup: The most effective interventions are implemented at the hyperlocal level. Think front yards and neighborhoods. “On average,” the authors write, “[spaces in front of homes] make up at least 25 percent of a city’s space and have the greatest potential to encourage everyday freedoms and social interaction.” Focusing on the very local also means that more children can access the interventions.
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An ecological corridor by the Sanlihe River in the Chinese city of Qian’an is popular with youth. Photo by Kongjian Yu/Courtesy of Arup
Splashy downtown megaprojects are typically less meaningful amenities for urban families. “When we create big parks and the big museum in the middle of a city, only certain kids use it,” said Michael Feigelson, executive director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, which develops and shares knowledge about early childhood development. “But if we build smaller and more locally, all neighborhoods benefit.”
Several cities, including Buffalo, New York, and El Paso, Texas, are investing heavily in building children’s museums. These may be appealing draws for tourists, but Levner sees the focus on such expensive downtown development as something of a cautionary tale. “These solutions are often implemented in places with a lot of political will and funding,” she said. “Cities focus on creating a wonderful downtown spaces, but they are often only for people who can afford them, leaving many kids and families behind.”
Arup’s report looks mainly at the kid-friendliness of cities in the developed world; child-friendly design can be even harder to accomplish in lower-income countries, where urbanization is occurring very rapidly and in an unplanned manner. “People often think of urbanization in the developing world as very dense, with slums and the like, but low-rise sprawl is even more of a problem,” said Jens Aerts, an urban planning expert at UNICEF. “Cities in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, are often less compact, and it’s harder to adjust these urban environments to be more child responsive.”
The report recommends that children and families be included in urban planning processes, and Aerts noted that this is particularly critical in lower-income countries. “It’s about creating community life and interaction,” he said. “This means policies like defining shared spaces for children and families and regulating land use, infrastructure standards, and decision making so that’s possible.”
Is the plan put forth by Arup enough? Brent Toderian, former chief planner of Vancouver and advocate for making downtowns conducive to family life, has one criticism: a lack of attention given to housing and services. While any smart addition to the narrative of designing for families is positive, he said, the report’s focus on the public realm skips over the need for housing that fits families at many price points, and essential supports such as daycare and schools. “If you do everything in the report but you don’t have enough housing and support services, your success will be limited,” he said. “Good strategies address all three elements.”
While Jerome Frost of Arup agrees that housing and services are a necessity, he countered that first investing in the public realm means ultimately investing in the larger vision Toderian describes. The initial investment, he said, “creates value that can be captured and recycled to help fund the affordable housing and public services that underpin successful urban childhoods.”
There’s another reason why the value of good public space for children’s health and well-being should not be underestimated, according to Feigelson. It’s easier, and cheaper, to fix.
“When you can’t change housing stock easily, having green spaces nearby, for instance, where families can get out and socialize really does make a big difference,” he says. “Changing bigger ticket items can take a long time and a lot of politics. Beginning with activities that are a bit easier, less expensive, and visible can be a great way to start the debate. City leaders need to feel like they can get things done.”
Funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation was provided to support CityLab ’ s project The Kids’ Zone.