Public Spaces for Children: A Consultation with Children on their use of Urban Public Spaces

Introduction

In February 2020, at the 10th session of the World Urban Forum, UNICEF and UN-Habitat launched an initiative to develop "Principles and Guidance for Public Spaces for Children". World Vision was among the key stakeholders invited for an initial brainstorming on what this guidance document could look like. In this first meeting, World Vision (represented by Aline Rahbany, Technical Director, Urban Programming) suggested that no principles or guidance for children should be developed without their participation. World Vision proposed leading a consultation with children to inform this process given its record history of ensuring children's participation in local, national and global policy and discourse related to their rights and well-being, as well as our large local footprint.

This consultation aims to capture children's perspectives and lived experience in the public spaces in their communities. The questions focused on four different characteristics of that experience:

1. Proximity and accessibility, as children should be able to access public spaces independently within walking or biking distance;

2. Safety, as children should be able to access public spaces through a safe journey and without obstacles;

3. Cleanliness, as children are most vulnerable and potentially most exposed to air pollution, soil pollution and waste; and

4. Stability, usability and playfulness: as children should be able to use the space for defined and undefined forms of play, physical activity and intergenerational interactions.

The voices and experience of children in these different contexts can help establish the right mapping mechanism and definition of public spaces for children, and developing principles and guidance to provide urban planning policy and design guidance.