Early childhood

Putting local communities at the center of public space making in informal settlements

The Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) collaborates with local community groups to transform underutilized risk-prone spaces in Kibera into a resilient and productive network of public spaces. This network of public spaces – comprising toilets, multipurpose halls, micro-enterprises, laundry facilities, play spaces, vegetable gardens, and schools – builds physical, social and economic resilience in informal communities Read more β†’

Ask an Expert: Cecilia Vaca Jones – β€œIf you could see the city from 95cm – the height of a healthy three-year-old child – what would you change?”

Cecilia Vaca Jones Urban95 blog

In our latest Ask an Expert Series blog, we speak with Cecilia Vaca Jones. Cecilia has over 20 years of experience leading public and private-sector organisations to promote and enable child-responsive policies and programmes at national and global levels. In this interview, Cecilia shares her insights on leading the Bernard van Leer Foundation from 2019 Read more β†’

Putting children and families at the heart of cycling programmes in Latin American cities

BYCS COP27

Cycling supports climate-friendly cities and the well-being of children and families in many ways, from improving air quality and health to increasing road safety. In the run-up to COP27, Lucas Snaije of BYCS, an Amsterdam-based global NGO supporting community-led urban change through cycling, discusses how programmes to support uptake in Latin America offer strong evidence Read more β†’

Urban upgrading supports early childhood care spaces in informal settlements

Urban upgrading supports early childhood care spaces in informal settlements cover

Emthonjenis are open-air learning spaces located around communal water taps in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa. They offer a safe space for children to access out-of-centre Early Childhood Development (ECD) services. We interviewed Phethang Mabeba, the ECD lead from Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU), to learn more about their model for combining Read more β†’

More than just playgrounds: four ways to improve neighbourhoods for the very young

More than just playgrounds blog cover WRI India

Child-centric urban planning is about more than just building playgrounds. Here, Kunal Kumar, Rushda Majeed and Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy outline four ways to make neighbourhoods better for very young children, from creating dedicated spaces for play to improving early childhood care centres. The 10 winning cities of the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge were announced by the Read more β†’

Are hunger and child malnutrition increasingly becoming ‘urban problems?’

After decades of decline, global hunger and malnutrition are increasing. While on average urban children tend to fare better than rural children, one in three stunted children lives in the city. While obesity – the β€˜other face’ of malnutrition – affects mostly adult urban residents, it also impacts urban children. The second Sustainable Development Goal Read more β†’

Four innovative approaches to childcare in informal settlements

Four innovative approaches to childcare in informal settlements

For millions of women and families living in poor urban areas, the lack of access to childcare services can be devastating. It can lead to lost incomes, higher caregiving burdens and psychological stress – and it affects the quality of care that children receive. Here, Anupama Nallari outlines why affordable, quality and proximate childcare services Read more β†’