Why plan cities for children?

When we hear the word ‘urban’, we think of skyscrapers, motor vehicles, broad roads, traffic jams, etc. Amidst this urban jungle, we often forget about the wellbeing of our young urban inhabitants—the children. This is an attempt to see what cities can do at the level of planning to create child-friendly cities.

I remember my childhood with the same fondness that everyone does. I lived in different cities in Uttar Pradesh, India, as my father was a government officer. And in most of those cities, we would live in government colonies with other families like ours. The colony was a safe place to explore, its gate strictly setting it apart from the chaos of the city. Most of my memories are of cycling around with other kids, climbing trees, eating berries from the bushes, learning constellations in the night sky, and playing every game under the sun on the huge ground that was surrounded by living quarters. A friend once said she was getting the ‘Malgudi days’ vibe from my childhood stories. Now, I live with my husband in an apartment in Delhi. There’s hardly any sunlight because I live on the ground floor of a tall building, and the cars line the already-narrow streets, which makes it difficult to walk. Children playing football or badminton in those lanes is a common sight, moving aside for a car or bike every two minutes barely getting the momentum to run unabashedly. For a vast majority of children living in metropolitan areas, this is the experience of living in a city.

This colony I am talking about was planned years ago for the families of government officials. Which means that the colony is safe from crimes and accidents, allowing kids to roam around freely. Cars are parked inside garages, so there’s no fear of damage from a flying ball or a racket. This is a testament to the fact that planning can go a long way towards creating child-friendly cities. Especially since unplanned urbanisation can lead to cities becoming ghettos for people, which ultimately harms children the most.

Child-friendly urban planning is an emerging concept in urban studies. And for a good reason. It is estimated that by 2050, 70 percent of all the world’s children will live in urban areas. We are making our cities smarter, faster, bigger, and brighter. But somewhere in our vehicle-laden cities, kids are losing their childhood. The presence of children is an indicator of a good and healthy city, or so the maxim goes. But where are the children on our streets? Children can hardly find open space to play in their own neighbourhood, barring a few exceptions.

Child-friendly urban planning involves designing places like streets, parks, and squares with kids in mind, so they can be active and seen around the city. It values what children think and feel, and through careful planning and design, it aims to give them more chances to play, discover, and move around their local area and the bigger city.

No child’s play

What about all the playgrounds, you say? Well, the playground as a dedicated space for children is not an indicator of a healthy built environment for children in general. In his groundbreaking book The Child in the City, Colin Ward declared, “One should be able to play everywhere, easily, loosely, and not forced into a “playground” or “park.” ”The failure of an urban environment can be measured in direct proportion to the number of “playgrounds.” In fact, playgrounds and parks were created as a response to the threat of traffic on the streets in the 20th century.

There are many cities in the world that have realised the importance of planning in creating safe and healthy cities for children. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is incorporating participatory planning approaches to create safe public spaces for children. The Shahid Alim Uddin playground in Dhaka’s old town, revitalised by the city corporation under the Jol-Sobujer Dhaka project, showcases a successful low-cost urban renewal. It features a grassy playground with a surrounding walkway, shaded seating, and diverse plant life, offering a green oasis for all ages and enhancing community life significantly. In Boston, the mayor initiated a programme empowering youth aged 12 to 25 to engage in civic affairs by introducing participatory budgeting. This marked the city as the first in the United States where young people are involved in deciding a portion of the municipal capital budget. Perhaps the most apt example is the city of Rotterdam, which changed its status from being the worst city for children to becoming a haven for families to settle. I have written about it in an earlier article in the November edition of Urban Update.

Taking baby steps

Indian cities need to start planning specifically for children. Indian families and neighbourhoods were traditionally child-rearing havens wherein parents weren’t needed to supervise their kids 24×7. With rapid urbanisation, however, this aspect of our cities is changing.

Indian cities are taking baby steps towards creating child-friendly cities through many initiatives. For instance, the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge, an initiative by the Smart Cities Mission of India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation and WRI India, aims to transform Indian cities into child-friendly spaces. Focused on enhancing early childhood development for children aged 0-5, the challenge encouraged 25 cities to implement projects in selected neighbourhoods to improve the quality of life for young children and their families. Through a mix of tactical and permanent solutions, these projects were executed over a seven-month period from March to October 2021, showcasing innovative, early childhood-oriented urban improvements.

Presence of children is an indicator for a good and healthy city or so the maxim goes.