Working for three years with research data and information from 358 cities across the world, the Urban95 Academy team at LSE Cities found that, despite regional and contextual differences, cities reported physical space, mobility, policy/governance, and inequality as their key challenges with regard to children and their caregivers. Beyond health and education, the physical environment in cities was of concern. The common reference was to a lack of consideration for children in urban planning.
The findings reiterated the need for “a deeper examination into the impacts of neighbourhood design” on a child’s life outcomes and highlighted “the need for a deeply embedded consideration of the needs of children in urban planning”. The paper which can be accessed here.[1] The potential for positive change exists within local governments, pointed out the paper co-authored by Katie Beck and Marie Kaune of the LSE Cities’ Urban95 Academy, an executive education programme for municipal leaders to learn tools and strategies to make cities better.
You and your team collected data from 75 countries. What are the most common urban challenges faced by children across cities of the world?
Across over 300 cities from 75 countries, we found variations of course with context specific challenges but there were also overarching challenges that were present across the sample. The top urban challenges reported were related to the physical environment. Within this category, we saw many reports of things like lack of adequate public space, lack of access to public space, lack of play spaces, lack of green space, lack of consideration for children’s needs in public space, rapid urban expansion and lack of inclusive public space.
The other most prevalent challenges cities reported were in the categories of mobility, policy and governance, and inequality. Some specific examples of challenges reported within these categories were things like car-centric planning, car dependence and traffic and safety concerns, a lack of visibility or consideration of children in urban planning. In terms of inequality, the common challenges referenced were poverty, informality, lack of access to education, lack of affordable housing, and barriers to women’s employment.
What insights did you and your team get from cities in India?
The data sample included 25 municipalities from India. The high level of engagement is due in part to the work of the Van Leer Foundation which funds the Urban95 Academy and does extensive work on child-friendly urban design in India.
Similar to other cities and regions, Indian municipalities reported Physical Environment as their top-ranking challenge category. Indian municipalities also cited government and policy, mobility, inequality and health and wellbeing as their other key challenges they are facing.
Some of the specific examples reported around physical environment and government and policy included rapid development, lack of accessible, safe and inclusive green and public spaces for children, and lack of integration of children’s needs across government. Challenges related to mobility included ack of pedestrian infrastructure such as access to streets, safe crossings and the enforcement of traffic regulations. In the categories of inequality and health and well being, Indian cities reported specific challenges like informality in living and working conditions, and lack of access to quality early childhood education.
How does the built environment, the way it’s largely done now, affect children?
An overarching element is the lack of consideration of children in urban planning more generally. So many cities in our study reported that children and caregivers are simply not considered in planning decisions. The specific ways that these groups move around the city and use urban spaces are not considered when decisions are made.
Another way to frame this, is to centre care. When we talk about young children, we really need to also talk about the people who care for young children. So a question to reflect on would be: How does the city support the work of caregiving?
There is a need for more joined up thinking across municipal departments. For example, things like policies around the provision of affordable high quality early childhood programmes as well as the facilities that house these programmes, and thinking about how young children and their caregivers get to those places, so the physical routes to schools and nurseries.
Photo: Pema Bhutia
Your paper showed that public spaces often fail to meet the children’s needs. What else does the urban built environment fail them on?
The term ‘built environment’ encapsulates a wide variety of spaces and infrastructure within urban environments, all of which children and caregivers interact with, so this is a big topic. Our research shines a light on areas that municipal governments often have oversight or control over, things like public space, transportation and road traffic systems, green space and parks and solid waste management.
We overwhelmingly saw cities sharing that public spaces were either inaccessible or inadequate in meeting the needs of young children and those who care for them. A very common example is the prevalence of car-centric infrastructure which many cities say limit the mobility of young children, and also pose health risks through road traffic accidents and high levels of air pollution. Access to key services is another area cities report as a challenge. This points to the need for more connected spaces and more opportunities for active travel like walking, cycling, or infrastructure that supports someone pushing strollers or prams or holding the hand of a small child.
If you were to list a few steps by which the built environment and urban planning could be made more child-friendly, inclusive and safer for children, what would they be?
We know that access to green space or outdoor space has significant positive impacts on physical development and well-being. This is true for everyone and particularly important when a child’s brain is in the crucial development stage in early childhood. The lack of accessible or safe spaces can limit the healthy development of motor skills and physical development but also mental health and wellbeing. And when we talk about the needs of young children 0-5 years old, we are also talking about their caregivers. We could be talking about pregnant people, and we are explicitly talking about those who care for young children. In most of the cities in the research sample, this responsibility largely falls to women, so we need to take a wide view of how urban space attends to the needs of these groups as well.
Thinking practically, some questions to think about could be: Are there sidewalks (pavements) and road crossings that account for the ways young children and their caregivers move in urban space – largely on foot or by public transport? Is public transport safe, clean, affordable, and reliable? Are public spaces designed in ways that feel welcoming and accessible to a pregnant person who may also be caring for young children? is it safe? Is there seating? Are there public toilets? Are spaces designed in a way that encourage or support connection with other users? Are there inviting spaces to stop between commonly frequented places for example between home, school, the grocery store or doctor’s office?
Photo: Jashvitha Dhagey
How do you recommend that children and their needs are kept on the table where urban planning is done? Who should, in your opinion, show sensitivity to them?
In order for children’s needs to be prioritised, their voices need to be heard. Community engagement and consultation is one tool that can help. Before implementing an infrastructure project, gather high quality data about how spaces are used or what young children and caregivers say they need or are lacking in their environments. Building on good data and involving the key stakeholders in the decision and planning can build in a sense of ownership and can create better outcomes and higher value and usage for a public space intervention.
Another method is to borrow from the idea of gender mainstreaming – whereby budget and policy decisions need to consider impacts for gender equality. If all urban planning decisions needed to consider how they would impact children, we may see different decisions being made.
Children are among the most vulnerable groups affected by climate change. Most urban climate policies have sidelined and ignored children. What are the ways forward in including children in the climate discourse?
This is an important question. In our research, climate change is not one of the top challenges cited by cities. Not because it isn’t a pressing issue, but I think this is because some of the factors at play are beyond the scope of what local governments have control over. We need to look more at this in different ways. We have seen over and over that kids are leading voices when it comes to climate change, but they don’t vote so they are often ignored or sidelined as you say.
Raising their needs and their voices up the political agenda can help to amplify this message. Some mayors have dedicated time to consult directly with children to listen to their needs and concerns. Some local governments have created departments specifically for children’s wellbeing. The key is to make sure these efforts are more than surface level and that they meaningfully engage with the specific needs of young people.
Shobha Surin, currently based in Bhubaneswar, is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience in newsrooms in Mumbai. An Associate Editor at Question of Cities, she is concerned about climate change and is learning about sustainable development.
Cover photo: Fauwaz Khan
