For both kids and kids at heart: Why ‘Streets for Kids’ was created

Our cities have long been dominated by vehicular transportation, often at the expense of safety and well-being, especially for our littlest city dwellers: kids. That’s why UMX teamed up with Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) to create the free online course: Streets for Kids: Urban Spaces for Children to Grow. 

UMX sat down with course author Carlota Sáenz de Tejada, a postdoctoral researcher at ISGlobal, to get a sneak peek at this course and better understand why when we design streets for kids, we’re designing them for everyone — families, communities, and even the environment. 

What inspired the ‘Streets for Kids’ course, and how did ISGlobal and UMX come together to create it? 

In addition to my own experience as a parent, childhood and urban health are topics that ISGlobal has worked on intensively for the last several years to figure out what interventions can be done to improve conditions for children and communities. For instance, my colleague Mònica Ubalde López, who appears in two videos from the course, has been involved in many projects to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce urban/harmful exposures on the way to and from school, among other related topics. With so much material, we felt like it was a good moment to bring it together in the form of a course. [Note: ISGlobal also released a graphic novel called Redrawing Barcelona to illustrate the risks of air pollution, noise, and sedentary lifestyles in the city, and they recently published a large study that links exposure to green spaces in early childhood to better lung function.] 

And a big, robust course it is! Why is it essential to focus on children when designing urban spaces? And how does that change one’s mindset regarding city planning?

Designers and policymakers should put themselves in the shoes of different people, not just kids. It’s more about switching from a simplistic approach to a more inclusive one by asking what different people might need from their streets. That’s why in the course, we insist that “kids for streets” are actually streets for the entire community, notably for other vulnerable groups, such as the elderly who tend to have mobility challenges that are often not prioritised in public spaces. In designing cities with this inclusive approach, we’re really tackling diversity. We need to ask ourselves as a society: What do we want from our streets? What kind of lifestyle do we aspire to? Does the scenery we have right now work for us? And not just individually, is it healthy for everyone and their diverse needs? 

Even “kids” is a diverse category in itself. How do the different phases of childhood development influence how children interact with urban spaces?

Actually, we should consider our urban environment’s influence on kids before they’re even born. As more studies are showing, exposure to certain factors during pregnancy can determine some birth outcomes and subsequent development. When we think of kids, we must then recognize that their needs change as they grow up. For example, in the beginning, it’s more about prioritising playing in and learning about their immediate environment, and they do it mostly with their caregivers. So suddenly, it’s not just about the width of the sidewalk, but it’s also about having places to change a diaper, breastfeed, eat, and socialise. As kids get older, the focus shifts to autonomy and independence. How can kids become more social and develop life skills? They need safe streets so they can walk on their own, but also comfortable streets where they can meet up with their friends. Mobility is also essential for adolescents because you want them to become self-sufficient, so they need public transportation options and active mobility networks that work for them. But many people consider teenagers to be a nuisance, even though social connections are extremely important at their age, and they need a space for that too. We must design streets, parks, and squares to host all of these activities, often at the same time.

Can you talk more about how thinking from this perspective serves more than just kids? Are there any additional environmental and social benefits?

One of the key benefits of more enjoyable streets for kids is reducing the undesired exposures from excessive motorised traffic, as in less air pollution and noise, as well as fewer cars and more space for people to walk. Cleaner air and quieter streets aren’t just great for kids but for everyone else too. Incorporating more green space into streets also mitigates heat and brings us closer to nature, which has many physical and mental health benefits. More space for walking also means more foot traffic, which has economic benefits for local stores and restaurants. More importantly, all of those factors combined make public space more vibrant and attractive, which has significant social and communal benefits. Cities aren’t about having segregated spaces depending on what phase of life you’re in. Streets serve as places where we can coexist together and even interact with one another. If people (caregivers, in particular) perceive streets as unwelcoming or dangerous, they will tend to spend more time at home. But that isn’t healthy either; it leads to less physical activity and less social interaction. So in addition to a fear of getting hit by a car, there’s a fear that we’re not living in a cohesive environment. We need to feel safe with others to strengthen our communities, and public spaces that bring everyone together can do just that.

Since you mentioned cars, what are the key ways that current car-dominated street designs negatively impact kids, specifically, as opposed to adults?

Until kids turn six or seven, they’re not capable of calculating distance and speed in a way that an adult would if a car was coming toward them, so that presents a big risk. Their height also makes them less visible to drivers and closer to the exhaust from cars. I love how in the course, there’s a video that’s recorded from the perspective of a kid on public transportation. You can see how much of the signage and windows are less attractive because they’re not addressed to their angle, and they face a lot more obstacles too. On the other hand, because kids are so curious when they’re small, they pay lots of attention to details. That means there is so much potential to make streets to be more fun, enjoyable, and stimulating, such as murals and pavement designs — any element that can be made more interesting for them is helpful. 

And the course features plenty of creative examples! But how do you measure the success of kid-friendly street designs? What performance indicators should cities take into account?

It depends, of course, on the objectives and the intervention. We know that not every single thing can be measured, and you can only set goals after having diagnosed the problem. For example, if some mobility changes are involved in the design, then environmental indicators such as air quality, noise levels, and temperature should be measured, especially if you’re incorporating greenery as well. And then there are systematic observation techniques and surveys on the user’s perspective: How do people use the space before and after the intervention? Are there changes in foot traffic, or in the type of activities carried out? What’s their perceived health and satisfaction with the space? We also need to involve kids themselves and not just see if it works for them but incorporate their inputs to make them part of the solutions. 

What are the main challenges that urban planners and policymakers face when they’re trying to implement kid-friendly street designs and how can they overcome them?

Some street characteristics, such as narrowness, slope, or pre-existing urban infrastructure,, can often make it challenging to find the best design for kids. For example, maybe the characteristics of a given street mean we can’t use a specific type of greenery, but there are always creative solutions around that. The bigger challenge in implementation often comes from local resistance to changing the status quo. The more you involve more people in the process, the more likely it is that change will be accepted. But it’s not about making friends with everybody or liking certain designs because they’re prettier. It’s about the kids and their rights. As other interests and priorities come up, we often forget that kids have the right to grow up and play in healthy environments.

So looking to the future, how do you envision child-friendly streets evolving in cities, and what long-term impacts do you hope to see?

Overall, I would like to see healthier environments that provide a better quality of life, with more time spent outdoors and interacting with others to build a sense of community and an attachment to their local environment. The bar for kids is very low right now, so we need to raise it. Let’s demand the things we benefited from when we were children as well as what we want for our children now. It’s also difficult to monitor and evaluate long-term impacts because they depend on the long-term survival of these implementations. That’s why empowering grassroots initiatives is so important for the sustainability of these projects. These decisions should not just be left in the hands of those who get elected at once, with the possibility that four years later they get reversed.

What advice would you give to citizens or advocacy groups who want to push for more child-centred urban designs in their own cities?

I would encourage them to take action. They can start by coordinating with other members of the community, such as families, schools, and researchers — advocates from both the public and the private sector who can share a common vision around child-centred urban design. They can help measure and define the problem, and also contribute to coming up with viable solutions that consider the local context. It might also help to seek guidance from activists in other cities, on the process they followed and how they “made their case.” Platforms like Kidical Mass and Streets for Kids from the Clean Cities Campaign provide a good overview of what’s going on worldwide and might serve as inspiration. There are several successful examples detailed in the course, and we tried to take into consideration geographical diversity when we included them.