Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children
January 13, 2026
9 min

5 Apps for child-friendly and smart cities

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Author: Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children

Digital apps enable residents to assess and improve the safety and inclusivity of public spaces. Turning citizen feedback into data-driven action helps cities create safer, more equitable places for children and caregivers. 

 As cities around the world embrace smart technologies, there’s a growing opportunity to make urban spaces more inclusive, especially for children and youth. Open-source, user-friendly mobile apps are emerging as powerful tools that allow residents to assess, influence, and improve their environments. Whether it’s mapping unsafe school routes, rating walkability, or finding playgrounds, these apps enable city residents to shape cities that work better for everyone.  

 We asked members of the Cities4Children Alliance to share apps that aim to make cities safer, more inclusive, and more liveable. From their suggestions, we selected five open-source apps developed by civil society organisations that offer city residents unique ways to participate in urban change, from documenting safety concerns to co-assessing public spaces. 

1. My Safetipin App to make public spaces safer, especially for girls and women

 

  • My Safetipin App user interface © Safetipin
  • What can you do with it? Conduct safety audits of public spaces by rating them on parameters like lighting, visibility, walking paths, and who it is used by, creating geotagged safety scores. The App empowers women, girls, and caregivers to document safety concerns and influence urban design priorities. For example, Delhi eliminated thousands of “dark spots” based on app data, by improving street lighting and police patrolling. 
  • Data storage and accessibility: All data collected through the App is stored securely on Safetipin’s cloud servers, with ownership and management retained by Safetipin. The app is free for individuals to download and use, and no payment is required for citizens to conduct or access audits. However, institutional access to bulk datasets or tailored analysis is typically facilitated through formal partnerships and project-based collaborations.   
  • Key users include individuals, especially women, girls, and caregivers, to record safety perceptions. Civil society groups use the App to mobilize communities for audits, while city governments and urban agencies use aggregated data to improve infrastructure. Researchers and international partners also leverage the data for studies and policy insights. 
  • Where has it been used? Active in over 77 cities across Asia, Latin America, and Africa; cities like Delhi, Bogota, and Hanoi have implemented improvements. 
  • Available in English, Cambodian, Hindi, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese and free to download on Apple App Store and Google Play.

2. Youth Engagement App (YEA) for safer school journeys

 

  • YEA App 
  • What can you do with it? The app allows children and youth to map and pinpoint safe or unsafe spots along school routes based on their perceptions and describe safety risks using photos and comments. This information feeds into the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) system. By analysing pin clusters, authorities can identify locations with significant safety concerns. These locations become the focus of in-depth road safety assessments around schools using SR4S, supporting the development of targeted road safety measures. 
  • Data storage and accessibility: Information is securely stored on Amazon servers and erased after 6 months after the last login date. While users can add and view safe or unsafe pins on the app, access to datasets for analysis requires an agreement with the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP). YEA data may be analysed by iRAP or project partners to advocate for road infrastructure improvements that address the safety concerns reported by students and school communities.  
  • Key users: School children aged 13 years and above and school communities including staff and parents. 
  • Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), French, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai and free to download and use on Apple App Store and Google Play. 

3. The Walkability App for more walkable neighbourhoods

 

  • Walkability App
  • What can you do with it? Allows citizens of all ages and abilities to share their walking experiences. Sharing walking experiences helps communities and responsible authorities to understand walkable places and identify areas that need further improvement to make walking better for everyone. Functionalities include adding photos and comments related to the experience, collecting data offline, and choosing user roles for different types of data collection. The app also features gamification, communication, and other social elements to foster walking communities and encourage participation.  
  • Data storage and accessibility: Stored on EU-based IT infrastructure with enhanced privacy settings. Individuals have access to their own data.  Walk21 can also make the data to be available to researchers and interested parties for analysis and discussion as well as provide comprehensive reports for a small fee.
  • Key users are mostly organisations and municipalities that want to collect data about walking experiences in selected neighbourhoods.
  • Where has it been used? Portugal, Colombia, Rwanda, Ireland, Nigeria, Serbia, Egypt and Zambia  
  • Available in English, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish and Norwegian and free to download on Apple App Store and Google Play.

4. YouWalk-UOS to assess and improve urban open spaces for more liveable, inclusive and vibrant cities

 

  • YouWalk-UOS App 
  • What can you do with it? Co-assess urban open spaces based on three dimensions –  
    • Functional aspects such as physical layout, design, accessibility, infrastructure, amenities, and recreation 
    • Social aspects such as safety, opportunities for recreation, relaxation, and socialisation, quality of community programmes and events, sense of belonging and social cohesion 
    • Perceptual aspects such as aesthetic qualities, comfort, ambience, visual appeal, noise levels, cleanliness, and the overall atmosphere. 
  • Data storage and accessibility: All data entered through the app is kept safe on a private server and can only be accessed by the app team. If someone submits a request for data through the website, the data is shared only with registered users. At the end of each assessment, the app generates simple score charts that show the results. 
  • Key users: The app is open to anyone above the age of 18. It has been widely used by tutors, researchers, students, and members of the general public. While children can also participate in the assessment, they must be registered and accompanied by a parent or guardian. 
  • Where has it been used? England 
  • Developed by: Ashraf M. Salama and Madhavi P. Patil 

5. Playground Buddy to find, explore and share information on playgrounds in cities around the world

 

  • Playground Buddy App
  • What can you do with it? Discover over 700,000 playgrounds in 170 countries. Features include available information on what the playground has to offer, photos of the park or playground, street views, searching, bookmarking, and sharing.  
  • Data storage and accessibility: All data is stored on google servers and can only be accessed by the app teams to conduct analyses. However, all registered app users can view, share and add information on playgrounds. 
  • Key users: Parents, caregivers, grandparents and daycare centres typically use the app to find playgrounds. 
  • Where has it been used? Global reach  

Beyond the promise: What to watch out for 

Digital tools for shaping child-friendly and inclusive cities hold great promise, but they also raise some important questions. 

Data privacy is a key concern. Many of these apps collect geotagged information, photos, or personal feedback. Without robust safeguards, sensitive data about children, women, or vulnerable communities could be misused. 

Another challenge is the digital divide. While apps like Safetipin or PlayScout can empower residents, they depend on access to smartphones, reliable internet, and digital literacy. This means that the very groups who could benefit most, such as urban poor families, young children, or the elderly, may be least likely to use them. If digital tools are not complemented by offline or community-based methods, they risk reinforcing inequality rather than reducing it. 

Some apps also face issues of longevity and sustainability. Civic tech projects often start with energy and visibility but fade when funding, institutional support, or user engagement declines. Without strong partnerships with municipalities and civil society, even innovative apps can become short-lived experiments rather than lasting solutions. 

Who can use these Apps and how 

Municipalities can partner with organisations like Safetipin and Walk21 to generate and analyse app-generated data to inform investments in safer streets, improved lighting, and create more inclusive and accessible public spaces. Integrating citizens’ voices into official planning and action can build more trust in local governments. 

Children and youth can use the apps to convey how safe or unsafe they feel while using streets and public spaces and pinpoint locations and problems. 

Urban practitioners can partner with organisations who have developed apps to analyse crowd-sourced data, understand problems and design more inclusive streets and public spaces that cater to the diverse needs of city residents. 

Parents and caregivers can use apps to make informed choices about safe routes, play spaces, and neighbourhoods for their children, while also contributing their knowledge back into the system. 

Digital tools are not silver bullets, but when thoughtfully used alongside other forms of engagement, they can help make cities more walkable, safer, and more child-friendly.  

Have you used these apps? Let us know your experience. Do you know of other apps that are helping communities transform their cities?  We are actively looking for government – led apps to make cities better. Please share them with us at info@cities4children.com. We would love to feature more innovations that put the power of shaping cities in the hands of their residents. 

About the Author 

This blog was written by Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children. Many thanks to Minh Vo from the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) for reviewing earlier versions of this blog and providing valuable suggestions. Also, many thanks to all the App developers Neeruja Gupta (Safetipin), Madhavi Patil (YouWalk-UOS), Minh Vo (YEA), Ingrid and Agnes (Walkability/Spotteron), Bronwen Thornton (Walk21 Foundation), and Jeff Richards (Playground Buddy) who provided additional information on the Apps.

 

The Ideas for Action Series showcases ideas for action, innovation, programmes, policies and practices that make public spaces child-friendly. Read more of our blogs here. 

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