Tim Gill

URBAN
playground
HOW CHILD-FRIENDLY PLANNING
AND DESIGN CAN SAVE CITIES

RIBA a Publishing
© RIBA Publishing, 2021

Published by RIBA Publishing, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD

978
ISBN 1 85946 929 3

The right of Tim Gill to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 sections 77 and 78.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording

otherwise, or without prior permission of the
copyright owner.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Commissioning Editor: Alex White

Assistant Editor: Clare Holloway
Production: Sarah-Louise Deazley
Designed and typeset by Sara Miranda Icaza
Printed and bound by Short Run Press Ltd, Exeter

While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and quality of the
information given in this publication, neither the Author nor the Publisher accept
any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or

omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it.

[Link]
 About the Author IV

Acknowledgements IV
Supporting Partner V
Foreword by Guillermo (Gil) Peñalosa VI

Preface VII

Chapter 1:

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN

Chapter 2:
WHAT IS CHILD-FRIENDLY URBAN
PLANNING AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Chapter 3:
TRANSFORMING A FAILING CITY

Chapter 4:
CHILD-FRIENDLY CITIES
AROUND THE WORLD

Chapter 5:
MAKING IT HAPPEN: PRINCIPLES,
BUILDING BLOCKS AND TOOLS

Chapter 6:
WHAT NEXT?

Key Reading and Resources 179

Endnotes 181

Index 195

Image Credits 198

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Gill is a global advocate for children’s outdoor play and mobility, and
a Design Council ambassador. He is the author of No Fear: Growing up in a
risk-averse society (2007). A Churchill Fellow with degrees from Oxford and
London Universities and an honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University, Tim
is a former director of the Children’s Play Council (now Play England).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Huge thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for the award of a
Fellowship, to the Bernard van Leer Foundation for financial support with
visits and writing, and to staff from both for their support throughout. Thanks
to Elisabeth Belpaire, Darell Hammond and Julien Vincelot for their advice
at key points, to Sam Williams for sterling work on illustrations, and Clare
Holloway, Sarah-Louise Deazley and Alex White at RIBA for so ably steering
the book to publication. Thanks to all interviewees for their time, input and
support, and to Simon Battisti, Daniella Ben-Attar, Mariana Brussoni, Heather
Cowie, Marianne Labre, Wim Seghers, Ana Roberta Souto and Ellen Weaver
for being so generous with their time, hospitality and expertise arranging
visits. Thanks to Emily Black, Dinah Bornat, Marlies Bouman, Chris Bruntlett,
Stephen Crabtree, Marcus Grant, Peter Kraftl, Kristiaan Leurs, Mara Mintzer,
Ian Mostert, Peter Neal, Annie Peyton, Eduardo Pompeo, Irene Quintáns,
Wendy Russell, Ben Tawil, Rodney Tolley, Paul Tranter, Wouter Vanderstede,
Riëtte van der Werff, Jan van der Wolde and Tess van Eyck Wickham for
their help with the text and photos. I am grateful to followers and others
on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for feedback on draft child-friendly
indicators. Finally, thanks to Rosa and Kay Watmough for their unwavering
practical, moral and emotional support.

IV URBAN PLAYGROUND
SUPPORTING PARTNER

Bernard van Leer a FOUNDATION

“A good start in life puts each individual child on the path to realising their full
potential and – collectively – sets the foundation for a healthy, equitable and
peaceful society.”

The Bernard van Leer Foundation is an independent Dutch organisation working

worldwide to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a good start in life.
The Bernard van Leer Foundation team works globally to inspire and inform
large-scale action that improves the health and wellbeing of young children –
especially the most vulnerable – and the people who care for them.N

For more than five decades, the Foundation has been dedicated to working
on early childhood. It does this through partnering with governments,
international civil society organisations, grassroots groups, philanthropic
foundations and businesses worldwide and funding promising solutions in
practice that drives impact at scale.

The Bernard van Leer Foundation is active in several countries across four
continents that together reflect global diversity in economic, geographical
and cultural terms. The Foundation focuses its work on three areas: Parents+
combines coaching for parents and other caregivers with services that meet
families’ basic needs. Urban95 incorporates a focus on babies and toddlers
into the planning, design and management of cities. Early Years Thought
Leadership shares inspirational and proven ideas, creating connections and
building a network of champions for the early years.

[Link]

SUPPORTING PARTNER V
 FOREWORD
by Guillermo (Gil) Peñalosa

The world’s urban population is going to double in the next 40 years from
3.5 billion to over 7 billion. Half of the homes that will exist in 2060 do not
exist today.

The cities we have created in the last 40 years are not environmentally
sustainable. They do not promote health. They are too spread out, leaving many
people too far away from nature, parks, shops, schools, and libraries. Cities have
been built with more thought for car mobility than children’s happiness.

We cannot create more of the same. Radical change is needed. We must

improve today’s cities. And we must create many more that are equitable
and sustainable. If we build cities that are great for children, we will end up
with cities that work for everyone.

This book provides the key elements, principles and examples of cities where
children are safe, healthy and happy. It is a must-read for anyone who is
interested in cities and people, including built environment professionals,
current and aspiring decision makers, elected officials, public sector staff
and students from all areas, community leaders, citizens and parents.

Tim’s analysis and insights from around the world demonstrates just how
wonderful cities can be for children. His unique and extensive knowledge,
spanning across public policy, education, childcare, planning, transport,
urban design, and playwork, allows him to provide a holistic perspective.
As Tim says, ‘we need to expand the horizons of childhood’. This book is an
excellent resource to help us do so.

Guillermo (Gil) Penalosa,

founder & chair 8 80 Cities, ambassador World Urban Parks

VI URBAN PLAYGROUND
PREFACE
This book aims to elevate the status of children in city-building. 1 To persuade
adults that children’s relationship with cities matters, and to shed light on
how it can be improved. Hence its primary audience is those with influence:
people who help to shape urban environments, as decision-makers,
professionals or advocates and campaigners. It is more than just a design
handbook or toolkit, which (helpful though they are) often offer solutions
that ignore or downplay the political, social, economic and ethical barriers
to change.

The book opens with an overview of urban planning and children, setting out
why the topic matters and giving some geographical and historical context.
A working definition of child-friendly urban planning is set out in Chapter 2. 2
Chapter 3 looks in detail at Rotterdam, the city that has arguably devoted
more time, money and energy to the approach than any other, and whose
investment is grounded in hard-nosed economic priorities. The geographical
scope is expanded in Chapter 4, with case studies and precedents from a

postindustrial
dozen or so cities around the world, from post-Communist Tirana to
Antwerp, from tropical Recife to Nordic Oslo, from historic Ghent
to high-tech Vancouver (also taking in my home city of London). Chapter 5
moves from description to action, setting out four essential building blocks of
child-friendly neighbourhoods, nine principles for implementation, and a set
of tools for built environment professionals, advocates and urban decision-
makers. The final chapter reviews prospects and challenges for the approach.

It is partly because of critiques of children’s participation that this book takes

a different tack. It places greater emphasis on children’s everyday lives,
on measurable changes in the built environment, and on evidence of the
difference these changes have made.

This is not to say that children’s rights and participation should be

ignored. Children are citizens in their own right, who experience cities and
neighbourhoods differently from adults. The insights gained from meaningful,
effective engagement with children are valuable and undervalued, in their
own terms and as catalysts for change. The key debate is about why, when
and how their views are sought, and what happens as a result.

This book’s primary focus is on the public realm. It is only when children
venture beyond their front doors or the gates of their schoolyards and

PREFAC VII
 experience life in the streets, parks, squares and playgrounds of the city
that they begin to gain a sense of themselves as urban citizens.

Hence schoolyards are outside my notional red line, unless they are open
for public use outside of school hours. However, much of the content on
playful public space design is highly relevant to schoolyards (and for that
matter outdoor spaces in kindergartens, nurseries and other early
childhood services).

For similar reasons, this book does not explore in detail that niche play space,
the staffed adventure playground. Typified by low-tech timber structures,
ample supplies of construction materials and loose parts, and a permissive,
child-friendly approach to oversight and supervision, adventure playgrounds
first emerged in Denmark, before spreading to the UK and beyond. Adventure
playworkers have given rise to radical theories about children’s free play and
the role of adults. They have also fed into play space design, for example
in the work of Assemble (winners of the Turner Prize for art in 2015) and the
London-based German practice Erect Architecture, who designed the award-
winning Tumbling Bay playground in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
At their best, adventure playgrounds are supremely playful oases for local
children and families. However, the fact that
they are usually locked and gated when they
are not staffed takes them outside the scope
of this book.3

The quality of the public realm is not the

only planning issue that makes cities work
well (or not) for children and families. Brent
Toderian – former Vancouver chief planner
and leading proponent of family-friendly
planning – argues that three ingredients
are needed: suitable, affordable housing;
good-quality schools, childcare and other
public services; and a welcoming, accessible,
engaging public realm
(see Figure P.1).4

Furthermore, these three pillars of family-

Figure P.1 The three pillars of family-friendly friendly neighbourhoods are interconnected
neighbourhoods in sometimes complex ways. The relative

VIII URBAN PLAYGROUND

location of services and spaces can affect levels of use and accessibility.
(My daughter’s primary school was right next door to a public playground.
The play area was old and uninspiring. But its prime location meant that
almost every school day afternoon, it was full of animated, active children
and caregivers.) The relationship between building entrances, windows
and balconies and the surrounding public space influences both the ease
of access to the outdoors and the degree of informal oversight, and hence
views about safety and security. The interior size and design of dwellings
influences the demand for outdoor space. Improving housing for families
will increase demand for schools and public spaces. Similarly, improving
the public realm may make neighbourhoods more popular for families,
potentially pushing housing costs up, increasing the pressure on family-
oriented services, and creating economic challenges for some families, or
even pushing them out of neighbourhoods altogether (a prospect that is
discussed further in Chapters 3 and 6).

The main focus is on action at the municipal level and within city boundaries.
This is for two reasons. First, the most relevant policy tools, and the main
local services like parks, schools, housing, planning and transport, typically
reside at the municipal level (though with some variations). Municipal activity
is of course shaped by national governments and other bodies. But it is at
the level of the municipality that there is the most scope for action. Second,
this municipal focus fills a gap. Recent years have seen a growing number
of non-academic publications on children and cities. However, none has
taken a robust look at how cities can move beyond vision statements,
policy documents, demonstrations, pilots, one-off engagement processes
and the like (important though they are) and into the delivery of sustained
programmes. The time is ripe for the comprehensive, state-of-the-art review
of the topic that is set out here.

PREFACE IX
 Chapter 1<br/>
URBAN PLANNING
AND CHILDREN

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the

way in which it treats its children.”

— Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa1

 In the spring of 2019, a legal decision was reached on a tragic case that could
become a milestone in British urban policy making. Ruling on the death of
nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, who died after an asthma attack six years
previously, the High Court accepted new evidence of links between her
symptoms and unlawful levels of air pollution near her home (she lived near
the South Circular, one of London’s busiest roads).2 The resulting new inquest
could leave Ella Kissi-Debrah as the first person in the UK for whom air
pollution is the stated cause of death.

Just a month before this court case, a more domestic story hit the UK
news. It emerged that children living in subsidised housing in one London
development had been physically barred from a playground that was literally
outside their windows, because it had been built for the exclusive use of
wealthier, home-owning families.3

As these two vignettes show, the adults who shape cities – architects,
planners, developers, and also politicians and decision-makers – have a
massive impact on the lives of children. Yet children are all but invisible to
them. Within the UK’s planning system, for example, newts and bats are
deemed more worthy of attention.4

The truth is that the vast majority of urban planning decisions and projects
take no account of their potential impact on children, and make no effort to
seek children’s views. On the rare occasions where children are involved,
all too often the results are unhelpful, unilluminating and make little or no
difference. Processes can be trivial, tokenistic, or idle wheels that, even if
creative and enjoyable for participants, have no way of exerting any wider
influence. All too often, this is down to a simple lack of respect for children’s
rights or abilities. But it may arise from a failure to think through the process,
or from genuine obstacles to effective engagement.5

At the same time, the global urban population is not only growing, it is
growing younger. Today, around 55% of the global population is urban.
This is predicted to rise to 60% by 2030 and 86% by 2050.6 By 2025, 60%
of the world’s children will live in cities.7 In 2005, 43% of all urban dwellers
were under the age of 18 – up from just 27% in 1955.8 And by 2030, as many
as 60% of the world’s total urban population will be under 18 years old.9
Almost all urban population growth – and hence most of the urban children
of the future – will be in the Global South.

2 URBAN PLAYGROUND
Figure 1.1. How children’s ‘right to roam’ has shrunk over four generations

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 3

 Childhood has undergone profound changes since the Second World War. In
many parts of the world, just two generations ago children typically enjoyed
high levels of freedom to play and get around their neighbourhood from
an early age. Fast-forward a couple of generations to the children of today,
and their horizons have shrunk almost to within the shadows cast by their
homes.10 This shrinking of children’s horizons is nicely illustrated in Figure
1.1, showing the ‘roaming range’ of four eight-year-old children from four
generations of the same family, who all grew up in the same city.11

To highlight this change is not to hark back to some golden age of childhood.
It is a spur to reflect on the changing nature of childhood, and to ask ourselves
what this might mean for the children – and the cities – of the future.

The reasons behind the change are complex. But urban planning is
undeniably a big part of the story. First and foremost, traffic growth has
transformed the domains of urban childhoods. Over the last hundred years
or so, traffic has emerged as a mortal threat to children who wish to get
around their neighbourhoods, and a justified fear for parents who want
to allow them to do this. Over the same period, the shift to car-centric
neighbourhood planning has only reinforced the logic of declining childhood
freedoms and indoor, sedentary lifestyles.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN URBAN PLANNING

GOES WRONG FOR CHILDREN?

While children are rarely the focus of planners, they arguably suffer the
most from poor planning – particularly those in low-income contexts. The
environmental threats children face include traffic danger, air and noise
pollution, and poor mental and physical health.12 Their bodies are more
vulnerable to pollutants of all kinds, and less well-equipped to cope with
weather extremes.13 There are also steep social gradients for air pollution and
physical inactivity. A 2018 UNICEF report stated that for children, unplanned
urbanisation ‘means unhealthy and unsafe environments, limited options for
walking and playing, [and] limited connectivity’.14 These environmental threats
scar the lives of millions of children every year. Without action, things will only
get worse as the climate crisis and environmental degradation escalate.

4 URBAN PLAYGROUND
 danger
Traffic
The toll on children from road traffic injuries is devastating. It is the leading
global cause of death among people aged 15–29, and the second highest
cause of death for children aged 5–14 (above malaria, HIV/AIDS and many
other diseases).15 In the UK, for much of the post-war period, hundreds of
children every year were killed by car drivers in residential streets. The fact
that the injury figures have fallen in recent decades is – at least in part –
because there are fewer children out and about.16 For traffic injuries, young
children in the most deprived areas are over five times more likely to be
killed or seriously injured than those in the least deprived areas. 17

"No child should die seriously injured while they walk, cycle or play.
or be
We must return our streets to our children. They have a right to feel safe on them.”

World Health Organization18

The threat from traffic is greatest in low- and middle-income countries. But
it persists even in nations with exemplary reputations for public health and
safety. In Sweden in 2018, for example, road traffic crashes were responsible
for one in nine of all deaths of children aged between 5 and 19. 19

Obesity and inactivity

Perhaps the most high-profile child health problem linked to urban planning
is child obesity. It increases the risk of many life-threatening diseases,
including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. It is hard
to overstate the global spread of child obesity in recent decades. In 1975 less
than one child in a hundred worldwide was obese; by 2016 this had risen
to nearly 6% of girls and nearly 8% of boys.20 In England in 2018–19, over one-
third (34%) of Year 6 children (aged 10-11) were overweight or obese,
and nearly a quarter (22.5%) of those in Reception (aged 4–5). Of these, 20%
of Year 6 children and 10% of Reception children were obese. There is a large
and growing social class gradient in both age groups; children living in the
most deprived areas are around twice as likely to be obese as those in the
least deprived areas. 21

Physically inactive children face other health problems later in life, on top
of those linked to obesity. These include impaired motor development,
worse bone and muscle health, poorer balance, and a greater risk of falls
and fractures.22

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 5

 The issue has rightly been labelled as a global epidemic, with huge
implications for public health and the public purse. For example, in the UK,
the treatment of conditions associated with diabetes takes up around 9% of
the total National Health Service budget. The cost – nearly £12 billion in 2012
– is set to rise significantly as the disease becomes more prevalent. 23

While child obesity has several causes, declining levels of physical activity
are a big part of the picture. And children’s physical activity levels are
worryingly low. Globally, over 80% of children aged 11–17 are not as active as
they should be.24 What is more, poor urban planning is one key causal factor
in this decline.25

Air pollution
Close behind traffic as an environmental threat to children (and partially
caused by it) is air pollution. Around 2 billion children globally live in areas
where outdoor air pollution exceeds international limits, and almost 300
million live in areas where levels are considered to be toxic. Worldwide,
around 127,000 children under the age of five die each year from outdoor air
pollution – around 2% of all deaths of children in this age group. Air pollution
is linked with many life-changing conditions including cancers, pulmonary
and cardiovascular diseases, stunted lung and brain development, airways
inflammation, longer-term ill health and premature death.26 Evidence is
growing that polluted air can also affect children’s cognitive development.27

Children are more susceptible to air pollution than adults, because their
bodies are still developing and their body size and characteristics mean
that the same dose potentially has a bigger effect.28 They are also exposed
to more roadside air pollution than adults.29 A mother’s chronic exposure
to severe air pollution during pregnancy is linked with impaired antenatal
growth and low birthweight, with longer-term consequences for her child’s
health and development.30

Noise pollution
Noise pollution is a major environmental health problem, with road traffic
the dominant source. An estimated 100 million people in Europe alone
are affected by harmful levels.31 The effects of noise, which go far beyond
mere annoyance, mainly result from stress reactions in the human body.
These can potentially lead to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment,
sleep disturbance, hearing problems, hypertension and premature death.

6 URBAN PLAYGROUND
Environmental noise is likely to discourage children from playing outdoors,
and may also discourage people of all ages from walking or cycling.32

Children may be more at risk of hearing impairment, and more adversely

affected in other ways, because of their physiology, and because they may
lack adequate coping mechanisms.33 Direct evidence of the impact of noise
on child development and well-being is limited. However, a 2018 review
found that road traffic noise potentially had a greater impact than other
sources of noise pollution.34

Mental health and well-being

Poor mental health is a major and growing issue for children. Around 10–20%
of children worldwide experience mental disorders. In England the figure is
around one child in eight aged between five and fifteen. Around one in twelve
have emotional disorders, which have become nearly 50% more prevalent
between 2004 and 2017.35 Moreover, children’s well-being is affected
by parental/caregiver mental health, because of the influence of their
interactions and relationships.36

Poor mental health is typically the result of a complex interplay between

personal, social and environmental factors. However, a growing body of
evidence shows that environmental features such as green space and
nearby nature have a direct impact on mental health, and may also influence
children’s academic attainment.37 One study that tracked over a million
Danish people found that children who lived in greener neighbourhoods had
a 55% lower risk of mental health problems later in life, even after adjusting
for other known risk factors such as socio-economic status, urbanisation and
a family history of mental disorders.38

CHILDREN: AN INDICATOR
SPECIES FOR CITIES?
Former Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa is perhaps the most high-profile
champion of the maxim that children are an indicator species for cities.
The idea is that the presence of children shows the quality of urban habitats,
in the same way that the presence of salmon in a river shows the quality of
that habitat. While sometimes glossed over as a slogan, the maxim (which
goes back at least as far as the 1990s, when UNICEF declared the well-being
of children as ‘the ultimate indicator of a healthy habitat’39) deserves a

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 7

 closer look. A good place to start is to
consider three types of neighbourhoods
that together make up the typical habitats
of a large proportion of the world’s children:
high-rise; high-density neighbourhoods;
low-density residential suburbs; and slums
and informal settlements.

High-density neighbourhoods

key feature
"The presence of the child is the
that domesticated our ever-intensifying city
and made it relevant to the broadest possible
spectrum of people.”

Larry Beasley, former chief planner, Vancouver 40

Figure 1.2 Seoul apartment block and playground When it comes to undesirable environments
for children, high-density – and especially
high-rise – housing is right at the top of many
people’s lists (see Figure 1.2). At first glance,
research tends to back up this assessment.
Studies going back decades have shown
that children in high-rise, urban contexts
are more unhappy and have poorer health,
A 2016 literature review of the impact developmental, educational and social
of high-density living on children found outcomes than average.41
some evidence of increased behavioural
problems in young children, and higher This negative picture of high-rise, high-
levels of psychological distress in mothers density childhoods may be unfair. Looking
of young children. By contrast, the review
more closely at the research, the picture is
found evidence of lower levels of obesity and
overweight. The reviewer urged caution in more mixed, and more complicated. One
interpreting and applying these findings, due problem is that most of the relevant studies
to limited data, a lack of robust studies and have taken place in Europe and North
some conflicting findings.42 Other studies have America, where high-rise and high-density
shown a positive link between population family housing neighbourhoods are often
density and children's access to a wide range associated with poverty and low status,
of things to do.43 having largely been shunned by the middle

8 URBAN PLAYGROUND
 classes. Hence families living in such neighbourhoods tend to be socially
and economically disadvantaged to start with, weakening the claim that poor
outcomes are down to planning and design factors.44

Attitudes to high-rise living vary widely, and there are dangers in over-
generalising from a Western viewpoint. One qualitative study of the views of
Hong Kong families, for example, found a preference for apartment living,
and hostility to the idea that single-family homes were the ideal. However,
the study also revealed deep dissatisfaction with the lack of green space and
facilities for families in that city.45 The city’s government is waking up to public
demands for a greener and more liveable urban environment.46

The suburbs

"[The suburb] is the child-rearing sector of the city: its nursery.”

Colin Ward, The Child in the City47

The low-density residential suburb emerged in the 20th century, in part as a

reaction to the real and perceived failings of more dense, urban areas. The
suburban formula of exclusively residential neighbourhoods, single-family
homes, cul-de-sac and connector road layouts, front and back yards, car
ports and garages may be falling out of favour with planners.48 But suburbs
remain popular in Europe, North America and Australasia (see Figure 1.3). 49
In the USA, for example, suburbs are home to between 60 and 80% of the
population.50 In low- and middle-income countries, sprawling suburbs are
common and spreading.51

Studies provide tentative evidential support for the child-friendly qualities of the
suburb. One review concluded that ‘the features of a “playable” neighbourhood…
describe a rural or suburban neighbourhood, with limited traffic, large yards,
and extensive greenery’.52 It is not hard to imagine why this might be so. Private
gardens or yards, for example, offer instant, round-the-clock access to outdoor
space where social and physical safety is usually a given, and where families
themselves can decide the look and feel of the space. Yet the picture is not
entirely clear: one Tel Aviv study found that suburban children did not play
outdoors any more than their more urban peers.53

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 9

Figure 1.3 A suburban neighbourhood in Houston, Texas

What is more, neighbourhoods with private gardens may have drawbacks

for some families. They may fail to cater for the outdoor play needs of some
children, especially older children and teenagers, who may prefer places with
more privacy, more space and greater opportunities for socialising. One 1997
UK study of children’s play on housing estates found evidence that children
spent more time in public areas – including streets, parks and play areas –
than in private gardens.54 Domestic gardens may be shaped more by adult
wishes for visual appeal and space for relaxation than by children’s appetite
for play, which can be messy and disruptive.

Despite the apparent popularity of suburbs, there is a growing view that

they are not as good for children as they appear. Their low density means
that services, schools, leisure facilities and friends and peers can be too
far to walk or cycle to, leaving children and caregivers isolated.55 In many
cities, patterns of land values mean that homes with gardens are located in
distant exosuburbs far from shopping and cultural centres. In some US and
British cities, rising housing costs force families to search ever further from
city centres to find suitable homes, giving rise to what has been called the
suburbanisation of poverty.56

10 URBAN PLAYGROUND
 As children’s independent mobility has fallen, so has their ability to access
local facilities. Simple geometry means that, other things being equal, these
declines hit hardest in low-density neighbourhoods. Children of school age
may end up virtually house-bound, or (with public transport infrequent,
inconvenient or non-existent) dependent upon the parental taxi service right
up to their late teens. Caregivers without car access struggle to get around,
with pushchairs and bags of essentials often adding to the transportation
burden. In some fast-growing, sprawling cities like Calgary, where school
building has not kept pace with population growth, many children face long
daily commutes by car or bus. Through the course of a typical school career,
this may add up to thousands of hours of lost time that could otherwise have
been spent in study, leisure or outdoor play.

Studies suggest that suburban layouts are fuelling inactive lifestyles57 and
social isolation.58 Long commutes have been linked with relationship and
financial stresses.59 The side-effects of sprawl can reach well beyond the
boundaries of the suburb. Low-density, suburban street patterns generate
traffic.60 While vehicle traffic levels may be low in cul-de-sacs, they can increase
dramatically further along the road hierarchy. The resulting induced car
journeys may well lead to higher carbon emissions, worse air pollution, more
road casualties and more neighbourhoods being carved up by busy traffic.61

Slums and informal settlements

"By their very nature slums develop opportunistically in the cracks of the ordered city...
Slums embody the key urban design ideas posited by new urbanism: high density, compact,
walkable, diverse and multi-use, car free and transit oriented."

Sudeshna Chatterjee, urbanist and children’s rights advocate 62

Around 1.4 billion people live in slums and informal settlements of one form
or another.63 One out of every three people living in cities of the developing
world lives in a slum.64 In such neighbourhoods, residents may face an
ever-present threat of eviction, while basic urban infrastructure like water,
sanitation, refuse collection and electricity can be patchy. High densities,
overcrowding, pressures on open land, poor or non-existent public space,
flood risks, a lack of pavements, uneven terrain and poorly maintained streets
can all add to the hostility of these urban environments, especially for children.
Obvious questions can be raised about the relevance of child-friendly urban

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 11

LIFE IN A FAVELA:
RECIFE, BRAZIL
planning to the majority of the world. Given
The majority of the population of Recife (a
tropical city in north-eastern Brazil) live in the problems many low-income cities and
low-income neighbourhoods, where levels of countries face in tackling basic challenges
sanitation are poor (although most homes have like decent housing, sanitation and nutrition,
water and electricity supplies). Most live in it is tempting to downplay concerns about
hillside favela communities in cramped, one- children’s everyday freedoms. However, far
to three-storey housing, geographically and from being a ‘nice to have’, a planning and
socially distant from the middle classes, who design focus on children can both directly
mostly live in high-rise apartment blocks and improve children’s basic life prospects and
have car-dependent lifestyles (see Figure 1.4). act as a catalyst that unlocks wider action
Many homes are perched precariously close to (a theme explored in Chapter 4 in relation to
steep, often unstable slopes. Getting around is Recife, Fortaleza and Tirana).
especially hard. A journey home may involve
a slow, crowded bus ride along twisting roads
Moreover, it may be premature to
and then a walk through narrow alleyways
and up lengthy, steep, uneven paths. Add condemn slums and informal settlements
shopping bags, baby gear and the like into the as irredeemably hostile environments for
picture, and these challenges grow – even more children to grow up in. Not all the problems
so in hot climates and neighbourhoods with of such neighbourhoods are down to their
a lack of shade. Children growing up in poor physical form. Many have spatial qualities
neighbourhoods face many environmental, that, in other contexts, are held in high
social and health challenges. Some, including regard by planners, including a human
access to education, violence, road danger, scale, walkability, low levels of traffic and
environmental hazards, infectious diseases car ownership, a diversity of markets,
and perinatal risks, are typical of Global South and proximity to public transport, work
contexts – and low-income populations are destinations and services (see Figure 1.5).65
hardest hit. But Brazil is also transitioning
towards problems that higher-income
countries also face, including growing rates of
child obesity. HISTORICAL INSIGHTS

Urban planning has its roots in creating

better places for children and families. The
Victorian town planning pioneer Ebenezer
Howard embraced the masterplanned
garden city as a response to rapid,
unplanned urbanisation following the
Industrial Revolution, and as the answer to
ordinary families’ needs and wishes. Since
then, interest in children’s experiences of
urban public space has ebbed and flowed. In
the UK, post-war town planning inspired by

Figure 1.4 Cohab favela, Recife, Brazil

Figure 1.5 Local shops and relatively quiet streets make cycling a viable choice: Iputinga, Recife.

both the garden city movement and modernist architecture aimed to create
spacious, green, pedestrian-friendly residential neighbourhoods that would
appeal to young families in particular.66 In Amsterdam, leading modernist
architect Aldo van Eyck and municipal colleagues carried out a child-friendly
public space programme of inspirational ambition and vision.

Around the same time, leading American urban thinkers Jane Jacobs and
Kevin Lynch, reporting on the everyday urban experiences of children and
parents, argued against wholesale urban reconstruction, instead celebrating
the messy complexity of cities and the qualities of existing neighbourhoods.
What Jacobs, Lynch and the idealistic planners all shared was a concern for
the texture and fabric of urban families’ lives. However, by the late 1970s
visions of urban utopias and welcoming, family-friendly neighbourhoods had
faded, and many global cities were facing family flight, declining populations
and poor prospects.

In the 1990s an international child-friendly cities movement, inspired by

Lynch and supported by UNICEF, shifted the focus onto children’s rights and
participation (see pp 106-7).67 The movement was grounded in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 13

ALDO VAN EYCK'S POST-WAR AMSTERDAM PLAYGROUND
CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME
In the aftermath of the second world war, Aldo look spartan to today’s eyes: a reflection of van
van Eyck oversaw perhaps the most ambitious Eyck’s design aesthetic perhaps, but also the
playground construction programme the world hardships of the period. However, the careful
has ever seen. Over a 30-year period more than choice of location and site-specific designs
700 highly distinctive playgrounds emerged are still noteworthy, and van Eyck’s eye for
across Amsterdam (a handful of which remain), elegance, sensitivity to place and commitment
in a programme that has been described as to expanding opportunities for play and social
‘one of the most original contributions to contact throughout the city are undeniable.
architecture, urbanism and art of the post-war
period, and one whose potential has still to
be tapped’.68

The spaces used a limited palette of low-cost

modular steel and concrete elements, along
with sandpits, benches and trees thoughtfully
arranged to fit the available space. Notably
lacking any fencing or hard boundary
definitions, the playgrounds were typically
located in neighbourhood focal points. They
were only created if there was a demand for
them from residents, and were created in both
existing districts and new masterplanned
suburbs.69 The overall effect was to create a
citywide network of lively, minimalist, playful Figure 1.6 Aldo van Eyck playground on a former
places that – judging by contemporary photos roundabout at Hogendorpplein in Amsterdam,
– functioned as the watering holes of local showing how access was improved by appropriating
communities (see Figure 1.6). The designs can road space

Assembly in 1989 and ratified by every country on earth apart from the USA.
But while it has engaged academics, advocates and municipalities, and
the UNICEF accreditation model it gave rise to has been taken up by cities
around the world, this movement has had little influence on planning and
design.70 The reasons for this lack of influence may be down to competing
priorities, lack of respect for children’s rights, and/or wider system failures.
Be that as it may, some of the movement’s leading figures have questioned
its emphasis on children’s formal participation in decision-making.

14 URBAN PLAYGROUND
 integrate our thinking on children’s formal participation
"We would do well to try to
with what is known of children's informal participation and culture-building through

play with their peers.”

Roger Hart, leading children’s rights and participatory planning advocate71

After decades on the margins, child-friendly perspectives are beginning

to rejoin the mainstream. One of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable
Development Goals – launched in 2015 – is to make cities more inclusive.
Targets on both green space and transport explicitly mention children.72 The
UN-convened HABITAT III summit featured the views and voices of children
prominently in its 2016 programme. The same year, the Bernard van Leer
Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) with a
strong track record on early childhood development, launched its Urban95
initiative, taking its longstanding focus on young children into the realm
of urban planning (see pp 107- 8). In 2017 the global planning, engineering
and urban design consultancy firm Arup published an agenda-setting
report on child-friendly urban planning and design.73 The following year
UNICEF published a handbook on what it called child-responsive urban
planning, setting out substantive measures to flesh out its Child-Friendly
Cities programme, with a focus on low- and middle-income contexts.74 Many
practice guides, handbooks and collections have emerged.

Interest in the topic is also being driven by the significant growth in child
populations in previously child-free downtown neighbourhoods in some
cities. This trend – partly a reflection of parental preferences for a more urban
lifestyle – has left some municipalities playing catch-up in their provision of
appropriate services, and has prompted new thinking on the planning and
design of streets and public spaces.75

URBAN PLANNING AND CHILDREN 15

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AND RESOURCES communities, New Village Press, New York, 2018.

Freeman, C. and Cook, A. Children and Planning, Lund
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ENDNOTES 7 UNICEF, Poverty and Exclusion among Urban Children,
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, 2002,
drawing on United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects:
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1 In this book, the word ‘child’ denotes someone under the 8 UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in
age of 18, in keeping with the United Nations Convention an Urban World, UNICEF, New York, 2012, pp 2–3.
on the Rights of the Child. Some interviewees, initiatives 9 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Youth
and sources use the terms ‘youth’ or ‘young people’ to Explosions in Developing World Cities: Approaches to
denote older children (typically over 11 years of age). The Reducing Poverty and Conflict in an Urban Age, Woodrow
book respects this usage when using direct quotes. Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington D.C.,
2 The term ‘child-friendly urban planning’ is used 2003, p 1.
throughout this book, and is intended to cover design as 10 The classic UK study on this topic is Mayer Hillman, John
well as planning. Adams and John Whitelegg, One false move: A study of
3 Some Japanese adventure playgrounds are the exception children’s independent mobility, Policy Studies Institute,
to this rule. An example is Hanegi Play Park in Setagaya, London, 1990. Similar findings have emerged in other
Tokyo, which sits in an unfenced, wooded area of a public countries: see Ben Shaw et al, Children’s independent
park. See Amy Fusselman, ‘”Play Freely At Your Own Risk”: mobility: a comparative study in England and Germany
A history of adventure playgrounds, which offer children (1971–2010), Policy Studies Institute, London, 2013, p 46 for
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taking sex/gender differences into account’, International 2007, p 98.
Journal of Health Geographics, Vol. 17, no. 1, 2018, p 24. 69 Lianne Verstrate and Lia Karsten, ‘The Creation of Play
56 Nick Bailey and Jon Minton, ‘The suburbanisation of Spaces in Twentieth-century Amsterdam: From an
poverty in British cities, 2004–16: extent, processes Intervention of Civil Actors to a Public Policy’, Landscape
and nature’, Urban Geography, Vol. 39, Issue 6, 2018, pp Research, Vol. 36, Issue 1, 2011; Liane Lefaivre, ‘Space,
892–915. Place and Play’, p 25

ENDNOTES 183
70 Kate Bishop and Linda Corkery, Designing Cities with goes on to warn against laissez-faire positions on the
Children and Young People: Beyond Playgrounds and need for public space. But he also adds: ‘we would have a
Skate Parks, Routledge, New York, 2017, Introduction; clearer idea of the way the environment could be adapted
Carolyn Whitzman, M. Worthington and D. Mizrachi,‘The for use by children if we looked at the way children
journey and the destination matter: Child-friendly cities actually used it'.
and children’s right to the city’, Built Environment, Vol. 36, 6 Susan Solomon, American Playgrounds: Revitalizing
no. 4, 2010, pp 474–486; Sheridan Bartlett, ‘Integrating Community Space, University Press of New England,
Children’s Rights into Municipal Action: A Review of Lebanon, 2005, p 1.
Progress and Lessons Learned’,Children, Youth and
Environments, Vol. 15, no. 2, 2005, pp 18–40; Peter 7 Helen Woolley, ‘Where do the children play?’ Proceedings
of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Municipal Engineer, Vol.
Kraftl, Sophie Hadfield-Hill and Alex Laxton, ‘Garden
Villages and Towns: Planning for Children and Young 160, no. 2, 2007, pp 89–95.
People’, <[Link] 8 Amalie Lambert et al, ‘What is the relationship between
BRIEFING%20REPORT_FULL.pdf>, University of the neighbourhood built environment and time spent in
Birmingham, 2018, (accessed 13 April 2020), p 10. outdoor play? A systematic review.’ International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 16, no. 20,
71 Roger Hart, ‘Stepping Back from ‘The Ladder’: Reflections
on a Model of Participatory Work with Children’, in A. 2019, p 3840.
Reid et al (eds), Participation and Learning, Springer, 9 Marketta Kyttä, ‘The extent of children’s independent
Dordrecht, 2008. mobility and the number of actualized affordances
72 United Nations, ‘Sustainable Development Goal 11: Make as criteria for child-friendly environments’, Journal of
cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’, <[Link] Environmental Psychology, Vol. 24, no. 2, 2004, pp 179–198.
[Link]/sustainabledevelopment/cities/>, undated, 10 ibid. pp 181–182.
(accessed 18 June 2020). 11 Scott Doyon, ‘The popsicle test and the importance
73 Sam Williams et al ‘Cities Alive: Designing for Urban of simplicity’, Placeshakers, <[Link]
Childhoods’, <[Link] [Link]/2011/09/02/popsicles-and-the-
publications/research/section/cities-alive-designing- importance-of-simplicity/>, 11 September 2011, (accessed
for-urban-childhoods>, 2017, (accessed 5 July 2019). 13 April 2020).
74 Jens Aerts, Shaping Urbanization for Children. 12 Marketta Kyattä, 'The extent of children's independent
mobility'. p 195.
75 Lia Karsten, ‘Housing as a way of life: Towards an
understanding of middle-class families’ preference for an 13 Kathrin Hörschelmann and Lorraine Van Blerk, Children,
urban residential location,’ Housing Studies, Vol. 22, no. 1, Youth and the City, Routledge, Abingdon, 2012
2007, pp 83–98. 14 Jens Aerts, Shaping Urbanization for Children: A handbook
on child-responsive urban planning, UNICEF, New York,
Chapter 2 2018, p 21.
1 Tania Alonso, ‘Francesco Tonucci, creator of The City 15 Baldo Blinkert, Aktionsräume von Kindern in der Stadt:
of Children: “Cities must choose between improving or eine Untersuchung im Auftrag der Stadt Freiburg, Vol. 2,
disappearing”’ <[Link] Centaurus-Verl.-Ges., Pfaffenweiler, 1996.
inclusive-sharing/francesco-tonucci-city-of-children/>, 16 Tim Gill, ‘The benefits of children’s engagement with
Smart City Lab, 15 November 2019, (accessed 18 February nature: A systematic literature review', Children Youth and
2020). Environments, Vol. 24, no. 2, 2014, pp 10–34.
2 Viviana Zelizer, Pricing the priceless child: The changing 17 Marcella Raney et al, ‘Physical Activity and Social
social value of children, Princeton University Press, Behaviors of Urban Children in Green Playgrounds’,
Princeton, 1994, Chapter 1; Krista Cowman, ‘Play streets: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol. 56, Issue 4,
women, children and the problem of urban traffic, 1930– 2018, pp 522–529.
1970’, Social History, Vol. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp 233–256.
18 Quoted in Sam Williams et al, ‘Cities Alive: Designing
3 Playday, ‘2007: Our streets too’, Playday, <[Link] for Urban Childhoods’, <[Link]
[Link]/campaigns-3/previous-campaigns/2007- perspectives/publications/research/section/cities-alive-
our-streets-too/ >, undated, (accessed 8 April 2020). designing-for-urban-childhoods>, 2017, (accessed 5July
4 Quoted in San Francisco Call, 21 February 1907, California 2019), p 15.
Digital Newspaper Collection, <[Link] 19 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child,
cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19070221.2.40,> (accessed 23 May 2019). ‘General comment No. 17 (2013) on the right of the child to
5 Colin Ward, The Child in the City, Bedford Square Press, rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and
London, 1990 (2nd edition), p 73, pp 179–180. Ward is the arts (art. 31)’, United Nations Committee on the Rights
quoting a German landscape architect professor, and of the Child, 2013, p 3.

184 URBAN PLAYGROUND

20 United Nations, ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’, 32 Tim Gill, ‘The benefits of children’s engagement with nature’.
<[Link] 33 Quoted in Sam Williams et al, ‘Cities Alive: Designing for
[Link]>, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Urban Childhoods’, p 39.
Rights, 1989, (accessed 8April 2020).
34 Risto Telama, ‘Tracking of physical activity from childhood
21 Peter Gray, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to to adulthood: a review’, Obesity Facts, Vol. 2, no. 3, 2009,
Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and pp 187–195; Stuart Biddle, Natalie Pearson, Gemma
Better Students for Life, Basic Books, New York, 2013, p 5; M. Ross and Rock Braithwaite, ‘Tracking of sedentary
George Eisen, Children and play in the Holocaust: Games behaviours of young people: a systematic review’,
among the shadows, University of Massachusetts Press, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 51, no. 5, 2010, pp 345–351.
Amherst, 1990; Sheridan Bartlett, ‘Children’s experience
of the physical environment in poor urban settlements 35 Tim Gill, ‘The benefits of children’s engagement with nature’.
and the implications for policy, planning and practice’, 36 Dinah Bornat, ‘Housing design for community life’,
Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 11, no. 2, 1999, ZCD Architects, <[Link]
pp 63–74; Betty Pfefferbaum et al, ‘Children’s coping in docs/neighbourhood_design_cfc >, 2016, (accessed 25
the context of disasters and terrorism’, Journal of Loss and November 2019).
Trauma, Vol. 19, Issue 1, 2014, pp 78–97. 37 ibid.
22 Peter Gray, Free to Learn, p 34. 38 Chris Holmes, ‘Mixed Communities: Success and
23 Quoted in Susan Solomon, American Playgrounds, p v. Sustainability’, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, <[Link]
24 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ‘Benefits of
physical activity’, <[Link] [Link]/report/mixed-communities-success-andsustainability
>, 2006, (accessed 9 April 2020).
basics/pa-health/[Link]>, 2020, (accessed 8 April 2020). 39 Scott Brown and Joanna Lombard, ‘Neighborhoods and
25 Valerie Carson and Madison Predy, ‘Active Outdoor social interaction’, in Wellbeing: A Complete Reference
Guide, Vol. II, (eds) Rachel Cooper, Elizabeth Burton and
Play’, in Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development
[online], (eds) R.E. Tremblay, M. Boivin and [Link].V. Peters Cary L. Cooper, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 2014,
(M. Brussoni topic ed.), <[Link] pp 1–28.
com/outdoor-play/according-experts/active-outdoor- 40 Joshua Hart and Graham Parkhurst, ‘Driven to excess:
play>, 2019, (accessed June 28, 2019; Dann Vinther, Impacts of motor vehicles on the quality of life of
‘Children who walk to school concentrate better’, <https:// residents of three streets in Bristol UK’, World Transport
Policy & Practice, Vol. 17, Issue 2, 2011, pp 12–30; the
[Link]/children-and-adolescents-denmarkexercise/children-who-walk-to-school-concentrate- US study was Donald Appleyard and Mark Lintell, ‘The
environmental quality of city streets: the residents’
better/1379550>, Science Nordic, 30 November 2012
(accessed 8 April 2020). viewpoint’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners,
26 Kenneth Ginsburg, ‘The importance of play in promoting Vol. 38, no. 2, 1972, pp 84-101.
healthy child development and maintaining strong 41 Sadie Boniface, R. Scantlebury, S. J. Watkins and J. S.
parent-child bonds,’ Pediatrics, Vol. 119, Issue 1, 2007, Mindell, ‘Health implications of transport: Evidence of
pp 182–191. effects of transport on social interactions’, Journal of
Transport & Health, Vol. 2, no. 3, 2015, pp 441–446.
27 Heart Foundation, <[Link]
au/benefits-of-walking>, Heart Foundation, undated, 42 Lorenza Dallago, Douglas Perkins, Massimo Santinello,
(accessed 18 June 2020). Will Boyce, Michal Molcho and Antony Morgan,
28 Ben Shaw, Martha Bicket, Bridget Elliott, Ben Fagan- ‘Adolescent place attachment, social capital, and
Watson, Elisabetta Mocca and Mayer Hillman, Children’s perceived safety: A comparison of 13 countries’, American
Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 44, Issue 1–2, 2009,
independent mobility: an international comparison and
recommendations for action, Policy Studies Institute, 2015. pp 148.
29 Department for Transport, ‘Cycling in Great Britain,’ 1996. 43 VicHealth, ‘Streets Ahead 2008–2011: Program evaluation
report’, <[Link]
30 Department for Transport, ‘National Travel Survey 2014: ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Active-
Travel to school', <[Link] travel/StreetsAhead/VH_Streets_Ahead.pdf?>, 2011,
uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ (accessed 14 April 2020), p 20.
data/file/476635/[Link]?>, undated,
(accessed 14 November 2019) 44 Mildred Warner and Rebecca Baran-Rees, ‘The
Economic Importance of Families with Children’,
31 Heather Ohly et al, ‘Attention Restoration Theory: A <[Link]
systematic review of the attention restoration potential of attachments/000/000/175/original/7520b55f4bdb242b75
exposure to natural environments’, Journal of Toxicology aff5a8f40016f2 >, March 2012, (accessed 10 April 2020), p 1.
and Environmental Health, Part B, Vol. 19, no. 7, 2016,
pp 305–343. 45 ibid. p 6.

ENDNOTES 18S
46 Shigehiro Oishi et al, ‘The socioecological psychology of 13 City of Rotterdam, ‘Rotterdam: City With A Future:
upward social mobility’, American Psychologist, Vol. 74, How To Build A Child Friendly City,’ <[Link]
Issue 7, 2019, pp 751–763. [Link]/document/266583265/Rotterdam-City-
47 Quoted in Arup, ‘Cities Alive: Designing for Urban With-a-Future>, 2010, (accessed 9 January 2020); City
Childhoods’, p 27. of Rotterdam, ‘Bouwstenen voor een kindvriendelijk
Rotterdam Stedenbouwkundige visie’, <[Link]
48 Rebecca Henderson, talk on 30 April 2020 at ‘How a [Link]/document/50705430/Bouwstenen-Voor-Een-
pandemic could heal our planet and our economy’
Kindvriendelijk-Rotterdam>, 2010, (accessed 9 January 2020).
webinar hosted by Apolitical.
14 City of Rotterdam, ‘Kindvriendelijkheid in Rotterdam en
49 Horst Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, ‘Dilemmas in a general
in de Kansrijke wijken. Monitor Rotterdam Kindvriendelijk
theory of planning ', Policy Sciences, Vol. 4, no. 2, 1973, 2016’, <[Link]
pp 155–169. Kindvriendelijkheid-in-Rotterdam-en-in-de-Kansrijke-
wijken-Monitor-Rotterdam-Kindvriendelijk-2016/161>,
Chapter 3 2016, (accessed 15 January 2020).
1 Sam Williams et al, ‘Cities Alive: Designing for Urban
Childhoods’, Arup, <[Link] 15 Marguerite Van Den Berg, ‘City children and gentrified
neighbourhoods: the new generation as urban
publications/research/section/cities-alive-designing-
for-urban-childhoods>, 2017, (accessed 5July 2019), p 28. regeneration strategy’, International Journal of Urban and
Regional Research, Vol. 37, Issue 2, 2013, pp 523–536.
2 Liane Lefaivre, Ground Up City: Play as a design tool, 010
Publishers, Rotterdam, 2007, p 81.
16 Olga Mecking, ‘“Cargo-Bike Moms” Are Gentrifying the
Netherlands’, The Atlantic, 11 June, 2018.
3 Kristiaan Leurs, Senior Mobility Adviser, City of Rotterdam,
17 Afke Weltevrede et al, Nieuwe Buren: Een onderzoek naar
personal communication, January 2020.
de veranderende sociale compositie in drie Rotterdamse
4 Bicycle Dutch, ‘Cycling in The Hague’, <[Link] Wijken, 2018, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
[Link]/2018/10/09/cycling-in-
the-hague/>, 9 August 2018, (accessed 13 April 2020). 18 De Urbanisten, ‘“Water Square” in Benthemplein’, Public
Space, <[Link]
5 Liane Lefaivre, Ground Up City, p 81. h034-water-square-in-benthemplein>, (accessed 14 April
6 Mattijs van Ruiven, Chief Urban Planner, Rotterdam, 2020).
interview, 8 March 2018. 19 HD Groep, ‘Tuin van Noord Noordsingel Rotterdam’,
7 Statistics Netherlands, ‘Government expenditure <[Link] HD Groep,
by municipalities 2007–2016’, <[Link] undated, (accessed 16 January 2020).
[Link]/statline/#/CBS/en/dataset/84116eng/- 20 City of Rotterdam, ‘Stedelijk Verkeersplan Rotterdam 2016–
table?ts=1578577097998>, user-generated table 2030+’, <[Link]
(accessed 9 January 2020). verkeersplan/Stedelijk-Verkeersplan-Rotterdam-20170123.
8 Havensteder, ‘Living, playing, learning: Child-friendly pdf>, 2017, (accessed 15 January 2020).
Erasmus neighbourhood and Rotte quarter’, Havensteder,
<[Link]
pdf>, undated, (accessed 13 April 2020).
9 City of Rotterdam, ‘Kom Op Naar Buiten!’, <[Link]
Chapter 4
1 Paul Tranter and Claire Freeman, Children and their Urban
[Link]/seminars/Gemeente-Rotterdam-Integrale- Environment: Changing Worlds, Earthscan, London, 2011, p 46.
[Link]>, 2016, (accessed 13 April
2 All population and population density figures in this chapter
2020).
are based on the relevant municipal boundary. Unless
10 Bernard van Leer Foundation, ‘Green Blue Schoolyards’, stated otherwise, the data was sourced from the website
<[Link] of either the municipality or the official national statistical
green-blue-schoolyards/>, undated, (accessed 22 agency, and was accessed in January/February 2020.
June 2020).
3 Antwerp City Council, ‘Antwerpse
11 BSW Rotterdam, ‘Duimdrop’, <[Link] Speelweefselplannen’, <[Link]
nl/duimdrop/>, 2020, (accessed 7 February2020). nl/info/57e3c42e15fb6d2b200ec37f/antwerpse-
12 Natalia Krysiak, ‘Designing Child-Friendly High Density speelweefselplannen >, undated, (accessed 20 January 2020).
Neighbourhoods: Transforming our cities for the health, 4 Kind & Samenleving, ‘Picto-Play 1.0: Catalogus en
wellbeing and happiness of children’, <[Link] Handleiding’, <[Link]
com/citiesforplay/docs/child_friendly_high_density_- play-10-knip-en-plak-het-speelweefsel-bij-mekaar/-
neighbourhoods>, 2019, (accessed 6 February2020), p 30. picto-play-10-catalogus-en-handleiding/>, undated,

186 URBAN PLAYGROUND

 (accessed 20 January 2020). For a sample Antwerp 18 City of Edmonton, ‘Downtown Public Place Plan (June
consultation web survey, see <[Link] 2019 Draft)’, City of Edmonton, <[Link]
project/heraanleg-speelterrein-hoboken>. ca/documents/Draft_Downtown_Public_Places_Plan_-
5 Interview with Annick van Stevens, City of Antwerp, 1 June_2019.pdf>, 2019, (accessed 24 January 2020);
March 2018. CBC News, ‘972,223 and counting: Edmonton growing
faster than Calgary, rest of province’, <[Link]
6 Julia Zvogbo, ‘A green car-free oasis in the centre of ca/news/canada/edmonton/972-223-and-counting-
Antwerp’, Child in the City Foundation, <[Link]
edmonton-growing-faster-than-calgary-rest-of-
[Link]/2019/05/08/a-green-car-free-oasis-in- province-1.5271704>, 2019, (accessed 24 January 2020).
the-centre-of-antwerp/>, 2019, (accessed 21 January 2020).
19 City of Edmonton, ‘Child-Friendly Edmonton Working
7 Barcelona City Council, ‘Plan for play in public spaces, Plan’, <[Link]
2030 horizon in Barcelona’, <[Link] documents/PDF/[Link]>, undated,
net/11703/116054>, 2019, (accessed 21 January 2020).
(accessed 24 January 2020).
8 ibid. p 28. 20 City of Edmonton, ‘Child-Friendly Civic Precinct’, <[Link]

[Link]/projects_plans/downt>,own/undated,
childfriendly(accessed
-civic-precinct.a24spx
9 Barcelona City Council, ‘Plan for Play in public spaces’,
Section 5.1, pp 30–43.
10 ibid. pp 51, 53. January 2020).
11 David Roberts, ‘Cars dominate cities today. Barcelona 21 Natasha Riebe, ‘Edmonton turning downtown parking
has set out to change that’, Vox, <[Link] lots into Central Park’, CBC, <[Link]
com/energy-and-environment/2019/4/8/18273893/- canada/edmonton/edmonton-central-park-1.5162616>,
barcelona-spain-urban-planning-cars>, 2019, (accessed 2019, (accessed 24 January 2020).
23 January 2020). 22 Josh Cohen, ‘Edmonton hopes parking lot to park
12 David Roberts, ‘Barcelona wants to build 500 superblocks. conversion will spur development’, <[Link]
Here’s what it learned from the first ones’, Vox, <[Link] [Link]/edmonton-hopes-parking-lot-to-park-
[Link]/energy-and-environment/2019/4/9/18300797/- conversion-will-spur-development/>, Architecture Design,
barcelona-spain-superblocks-urban-plan>, 2019, (accessed 2016, (accessed 24 January 2020).
23 January 2020). 23 City of Edmonton, ‘Downtown Public Place Plan’, p 63.
13 Wes Enzinna, ‘The “Superblock” Revolution is Making 24 Ian Austen, ‘Welcoming Winter’s Cold Embrace’, New York
Cities Safer and Cleaner’, Bloomberg, <[Link] Times, <[Link]
[Link]/news/features/2019-10-29/the- canada/[Link]>, 2020,
superblock-revolution-is-making-cities-safer-and- (accessed 24 January 2020).
cleaner>, 2019, (accessed 23 January 2020) 25 City of Edmonton, ‘Keep the Snowball Rolling: WinterCity
14 Victoria Torres Benayas, ‘“Extraordinary” heatwave in Strategy Evaluation & Report’, <[Link]
June breaks records across Spain’, El Pais, <[Link] ca/city_government/documents/COE_WinterCity_
com/elpais/2019/07/03/inenglish/1562154051_368812. Evaluation_Report_FINAL.pdf>, 2019, (accessed 24
html>, 2019 (accessed 21 January 2020); Jon Henley and January 2020).
Sam Jones, ‘Spain battles biggest wildfires in 20 years 26 ibid.
as heatwave grips Europe’, The Guardian, <[Link]
[Link]/world/2019/jun/27/hundreds-of- 27 Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency,
firefighters-tackle-blaze-in-north-east-spain>, 2019, ‘Young People’s Participation in Decision Making’,
(accessed 21 January 2020). European Commission, <[Link]
national-policies/en/content/youthwiki/54-young-
15 Based on data from Air Quality Life Index: see <[Link]
peoples-participation-policy-making-germany>, 2020,
[Link]/the-index/>, Energy Policy (accessed 17 January 2020).
Institute, University of Chicago, undated (accessed 23
January 2020); ‘Noise pollution: these are the 50 noisiest 28 City of Ghent, ‘Vision text and action plan “Ghent: a child
and most silent cities’, Knops, <[Link] and youth-friendly city”’, <[Link]
magazine/noise-pollution-50-noisiest-cities/>, 2017, international/city-policy/ghent-child-and-youth-friendly-
(accessed 23 January 2020). city>, 2015, (accessed 27January 2020).
16 Natalie Mueller et al, ‘Changing the urban design of 29 City of Ghent, ‘De Rode Loper’, <[Link]
cities for health: The superblock model’, Environment zuurstof-voor-de-brugse-poort/de-rode-loper>, undated,
International, Vol. 134, 2020. (accessed 27January 2020).
17 Growing Up Boulder, ‘Growing Up Boulder: About Us’, 30 City of Ghent, ‘The Circulation Plan’, <[Link]
<[Link] en/mobility-ghent/circulation-plan>, undated, (accessed
undated, (accessed 2 April 2020). 28 January 2020).

ENDNOTES 187
31 Transport & Mobility Leuven, ‘Evaluatie Circulatieplan 44 Much of the material on Tirana in this section draws
Gent’, City of Ghent, <[Link] on: Gabriel Kuris, ‘Reconstructing a City in the Interests
project/circulatieplangent>, March 2018 and May 2019, of its Children: Tirana, Albania, 2015–2019’, Innovations
(accessed 28 January 2020) for Successful Societies, Princeton University, <[Link]
32 Lisa Bradshaw, ‘Ghent’s circulation plan leads to [Link]/publications/-
sharp drop in pollution’, Flanders Today, <[Link] reconstructing-city-interests-its-children-tirana-albania-
2015-%E2%80%93-2019>, 2019, (accessed 5 February 2020).
[Link]/ghents-circulation-plan-leads-sharpdrop-pollution
>, 2018, (accessed 30 January 2020). 45 ibid. p 22.
33 Tine Hens, quoted in Rachel Obordo, “The streets are 46 Gabriel Kuris, ‘Reconstructing a City in the Interests of
more alive”: Ghent readers on a car-free city centre’, its Children’, p 7.
The Guardian, <[Link] 47 Ann McAfee and Andrew Malczewski, Housing Families
environment/2020/jan/20/the-streets-are-more- at High Densities, City of Vancouver, 1978.
alive-ghent-readers-on-a-car-free-city-centre>, 2020,
(accessed 30 January 2020). 48 Larry Beasley, Vancouverism, UBC Press, Vancouver,
pp 211–263.
34 Karl Harald Søvig, ‘Incorporating the Convention in
Norwegian Law,’ in Children’s Rights in Norway: An 49 Nancy Hofer, Compilation Report of the Process, Findings
Implementation Paradox?, M. Langford, M. Skivenes and and Recommendations from the False Creek North
Post-Occupancy Evaluation, School of Community and
K.H. Søvig (eds), Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 2019,
pp 269–299. Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, 2008.
35 Norwegian Planning and Building Act 2008, Section 5–1. 50 City of Vancouver, ‘East Fraser Land Parks’, City of

https:/ [Link]/parks-recreationculture/[Link]
Vancouver, <
36 Oslo Traffic Agent team, personal communication. >, 2020, (accessed
37 Much of the material on Recife in this section draws on: 10 February 2020); City of Vancouver, ‘East Fraser Lands

https:/ [Link]/home-propertydevelopment/east-fraser-lands-river-district>,.aspx2020,
Bill Steiden and Sam Dearden, ‘Governing from a Child’s (River District)’, <
Perspective: Recife, Brazil, Works to Become Family
Friendly, 2017–2019’, Innovations for Successful Societies, (accessed 10 February 2020).
Princeton University, <[Link] 51 Larry Beasley, Vancouverism, p 205; Ann McAfee, quoted
[Link]/sites/successfulsocieties/files/Brazil_ in Natalia Krysiak, ‘Designing Child-Friendly High Density
Recife_Urban95_FINAL.pdf>, 2019, (accessed 3 February Neighbourhoods: Transforming our cities for the health,
2020). wellbeing and happiness of children’, <[Link]
38 City of Recife, ‘Parque Capibaribe’, <[Link] com/citiesforplay/docs/child_friendly_high_density_-
org/>, 2020, (accessed 3 February 2020). neighbourhoods >, 2019, (accessed 7 February 2020), p 109.
39 Much of the material on Tel Aviv in this section draws on: 52 London Legacy Development Corporation, Legacy
Gordon LaForge, ‘City Hall Embraces Early Childhood Communities Scheme PDZ6 Phase 1 Design & Access
Development: Reaching an Underserved Population in Statement, <[Link]
Tel Aviv, 2016–2019’, Innovations for Successful Societies, [Link]/swift/MediaTemp/[Link]>, November
Princeton University, <[Link] 2013, (accessed 11 April 2020); London Legacy

[Link]/publications/city-hall-embraces-earlychildhood-development-reaching-underserved-
Development Corporation, ‘Youth Space’, <[Link]
[Link]/-/media/youth-
population-tel-aviv>, 2019, (accessed 3 April 2020). space-(2016).ashx?la=en>, 2016, (accessed 11April 2020);
40 Tami Gavrieli (former chief planner, Tel Aviv-Yafo), 53 Gabriella Jozwiak, ‘Islington Council unveils risk-focused
personal communication, 26 February 2020. approach to play’, Children and Young People Now,

https:/ [Link]/News/article/islingtoncouncil-unveils-risk-focused-approach->,to19-play
41 Shiri Pondmansky (head of landscape in the Ministry of <
Construction and Housing), personal communication, 27
February 2020. November 2012, (accessed 13 April 2020).
42 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and 54 Publica and Erect Architecture, ‘Making London Child-
Development, ‘Child Poverty’, <[Link] Friendly: Designing places and streets for children and
els/CO_2_2_Child_Poverty.pdf>, 2019, (accessed 13 April young people’, Mayor of London, <[Link]
2020), p 2.
43 ‘Tirana among most polluted capitals in the region
[Link]/sites/d>,ef2019,
ault/file(accessed
s/ggbd_maki11April
ng_london_chi
2020). [Link]
says WHO', Tirana Echo, <[Link] 55 London National Park City, ‘What is the London National
latest-news/tirana-among-most-polluted-capitals-in- Park City?’, <[Link]
the-region-says-who/>, 21 October 2016, (accessed 5 about-find-out-more/what-is-the-london-national-park-
February 2020). city>, undated, (accessed 11 April 2020).

188 URBAN PLAYGROUND

56 Government Digital Service ([Link]), ‘Case Study: significant-figures-in-the-child-friendly-cities-initiative/>,
London Mini-Hollands’, <[Link] 27 November 2018, (accessed 6 March 2020).
government/case-studies/london-mini-hollands>, 70 La Città Dei Bambini, ‘The Network’, <[Link]
7 February 2020, (accessed 11 April 2020). [Link]/en/ >, undated, (accessed 7 March
57 Tim Gill, ‘Sowing the Seeds: Reconnecting London’s 2020); Tania Alonso, ‘Francesco Tonucci, creator of The
Children with Nature’, Greater London Authority, <[Link] City of Children: “Cities must choose between improving
[Link]/sites/default/files/lsdc_-_sowing_the_- or disappearing”’, <[Link]
seeds_-_full_report_2011.pdf>, 2011, (accessed 11 April 2020). inclusive-sharing/francesco-tonucci-city-of-children/>,
58 John Hitchin, ‘EC1 New Deal for Communities 2001–2011 15 November 2019, (accessed 7 March 2020).
Final Evaluation’, Renaisi, <[Link] 71 Charles Montgomery and Tristan Cleveland, ‘The
content/uploads/2020/02/EC1-NDC-Evaluation-Report. happiness movement: How cities around the world
pdf>, undated, (accessed 11 April 2020). are pursuing joy by fostering social change’, National

https:/ [Link]/entertainment/thehappiness-movement-how-cities-around-the-world-are-
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78 City of Toronto, ‘Growing Up: Planning for Children in 12 Theresa Casey and Harry Harbottle, ‘Free to Play’, p 9.
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79 Josh Fullan, ‘KidScore: Children telling planners what they
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16 Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History
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1 Colin Ward, The Child in the City (2nd edition), Bedford
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8 Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, The Spirit Level: Why
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10 Theresa Casey and Harry Harbottle, ‘Free to Play’, p 12.
11 Nancy Worth, ‘Visual impairment in the city: Young
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pdf >, 2019, (accessed 18 June 2020). 2015, (accessed 13 March 2020).
54 Anna Minton, Ground Control: Fear and happiness in the 69 Helen Forman, Residential Street Design and Play, Playing
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55 Peter Kraftl, Sophie Hadfield-Hill and Alex Laxton, 70 Eran Ben-Joseph, ‘Changing the Residential Street Scene:
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Young People’, University of Birmingham, < [Link] Suburban Environment’, Journal of the American Planning
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59 Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, ‘Living Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research
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60 National Association of City Transportation Officials Global 75 Nick Cavell et al, ‘Active Travel and Physical Activity
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61 ibid. public/[Link]?>,
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63 Katherine Ker et al, ‘Post-licence driver education for the 77 Adapted from City of Vancouver, ‘Transportation Design
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64 World Health Organization, Global Status Report on Road 2017, (accessed 11 February2020).
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78 National Association of City Transportation Officials,
65 NACTO-GDCI, Global Street Design Guide, Island Press, ‘Designing for All Ages & Abilities: Contextual Guidance
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67 Tim Gill, ‘Home Zones in the UK: History, Policy and 79 Joni Baboci, ‘Designing for children should be plan A — so
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residential streets’, Cardiff University School of City and February 2020).
Regional Planning, 2011.

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80 Luisa Sturiale and A. Scuderi, ‘The Role of Green default/files/osd31_shaping_neighbourhoods_play_-
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82 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our pp 89–91.
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84 Meghan Talarowski, ‘London Study of Playgrounds: 97 City of Toronto, ‘Growing Up: Planning for Children in New

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vs New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles’,
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85 Myron Floyd et al, ‘Park-based physical activity among Chapter 6
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86 Karlijn Sporrel, Karlijn et al, ‘Children prefer a com/solutions/2012/01/8-80-problem-designing-cities-
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89 Jennifer Skulski, ‘Designing For Inclusive Play: Applying The
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92 Guardian Cities, ‘From lizarding to lingering: how we really
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11 Transport for New Housing, ‘Garden Villages and 23 Maptionnaire, ‘Ask Kids What They Think – Designing Better
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