Tag Archives: Urban planning

Antwerp’s Play Space Web: smart, child-friendly neighbourhood planning in action

Posted on March 7, 2018 | 6 comments

When it comes to making Antwerp more playful and child-friendly, Wim Seghers is the man with a plan. His role is to develop the city’s playgrounds. But his award-winning approach is to start not with the play space, but with the neighbourhood beyond, making full use of Antwerp’s world-class data in the process.

Wim – my host for the first leg of my European study tour of child-friendly urban planning – explained to me last week how his city’s ‘play space web’ (‘speelweefselplan’ in Dutch) approach works.

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Posted in Child-friendliness, Mobility, Outdoor play, Public policy, Urban planning

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Studying child-friendly cities, Northern European style

Posted on February 20, 2018 | 6 comments

This post shares news of the second and final leg of my Churchill Fellowship study tour, which starts on Monday 26 Feb. In the following four weeks the tour will take me to Antwerp, Ghent, Rotterdam, Oslo and Freiburg (dates below).

Along the way I will meet decision-makers, municipality officials and partner agencies to find out more about each city’s efforts to make their streets, parks and public spaces more child-friendly, and to make it easier for children to travel around their neighbourhoods and the city beyond.

I also plan to gain some insights into children’s own experiences of the neighbourhoods where they live and play.

Playful public space, Vauban, Freiburg

Playful public space, Vauban, Freiburg

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Posted in Child-friendliness, Urban planning, Urbanism

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New Arup report places children at the heart of urban planning

Posted on December 8, 2017 | 9 comments

Cover of Cities Alive: Designing for Urban ChildhoodsA new report from planning and built environment firm Arup argues that children should be central to good urban planning and design around the world.

Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods takes its cue from the oft-quoted maxim of Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa that the child is an indicator species for cities. Part of Arup’s Cities Alive series of publications, it shows that child-friendly urban planning is about much more than providing playgrounds. Rather, it is part and parcel of making cities more livable, sustainable and successful for all citizens. Continue reading →

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Posted in Child-friendliness, Outdoor play, Public policy, Public space, Urban planning, Urbanism

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The London Plan is just the start | Child in the City

Posted on December 4, 2017 | 2 comments

Change is in the air at City Hall, as followers of my facebook page will have spotted. Last week Mayor Khan fleshed out his vision of ‘good growth’ for London in the draft London Plan. And the signs are that child-friendliness is part of the picture.

The Plan, with its bold statements about integrating play into neighbourhoods and improving children’s independent mobility, shows genuine progress (see Policy S4, pp 212-4). Here Holly Weir (former senior strategic planner for the Greater London Authority) gives her take on the story so far, and the challenges to come. As co-author of the original planning guidance on play, I agree that clear, effective guidance will be key to implementing the policy.

Does the new London Plan, published last week by Mayor Sadiq Khan, herald a renewal of the UK capital’s commitments to become a genuinely child friendly city? Holly Weir, who worked on the plan for two years at the Greater London Authority (GLA), believes it is a big improvement on its predecessor, but that the […]

Source: The London Plan is just the start | Child in the City

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Posted in Mobility, Outdoor play, play, Public policy, Urban planning

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Could street play hold the key to creating more sustainable, livable cities?

Posted on August 2, 2017 | 5 comments

This week marked a milestone in the UK street play movement, with the publication of three new reports.

The first is an evaluation report by Bristol University [pdf link], published by Play England, which looked mainly at the health outcomes for children. The second is a report [pdf link] from Playing Out, the Bristol-based national hub for street play, of a survey of people directly involved in street play sessions. The third, written by me [pdf link] and also published by Play England, explores the issues around taking street play initiatives forward in disadvantaged areas.

This blog post from Playing Out gives a helpful overview of the three reports (as well as a flavour of the high level of press interest).

Boy lying on skateboard in street with child cyclist behind

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Posted in Child-friendliness, Health, Public policy, Urban planning

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The child as an indicator species for cities: reflections on Philadelphia

Posted on July 24, 2017 | 3 comments

This post starts by sharing an op-ed piece of mine published in the Philadelphia Enquirer last week to coincide with my trip to the city. It is followed by a postscript with reflections on the visit. I’ve also inserted images of some of the parks I saw.

Spruce Street Harbor Park

Spruce Street Harbor Park

Imagine you take a time machine trip to 2037. You step out and start to explore your city. What sights and sounds would convince you that the Philly of the future was thriving?

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Posted in Child-friendliness, playground, Public policy, Urban planning, Urbanism

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