Tannya Pico and The Urban Hub Team @ Save the Children , July 15, 2025, 8 min
In the hills and valleys of Quito, Ecuador, a quiet green revolution has been unfolding for over two decades. The Metropolitan District of Quitoâs Participatory Urban Agriculture Project, also known as AGRUPAR, has significantly improved food security, nutrition, and inclusion for thousands of vulnerable children and families across the city. Urban Growth and Inequality in Read more â
Sudeshna Chatterjee, Louise Chawla, Deepti Talpade, Leticia Lozano, January 28, 2025, 10 min
Nearby trees, parks, gardens, green schoolyards, and other urban green spaces are not just ‘nice to have’; they are ‘need to have’ resources for health and wellbeing. This blog describes two examples of how children’s enthusiasm and creativity transform inner-city wastelands into green, inclusive community spaces. Why green spaces matter for everyone Compared to young Read more â
Kunal Kumar, Rushda Majeed, and Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy, September 13, 2022, 6 min
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 â
Tim Gill, May 24, 2022, 7 min
My last blog made the case for child-friendly urban planning as a catalyst for healthier, more sustainable cities. It set out a two-dimensional framework highlighting the role of mobility on the one hand, and a wide choice of things to do (crucially including places to play) on the other. This blog looks in more detail Read more â
Cities4Children , April 26, 2022, 9 min
We speak to Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of 8 80 Cities. After many years running the organisation as Executive Director, he now serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. We speak to him about the impact city parks can have on the urban environment as part of our Ask an Expert series. Letâs Read more â
Cities4Children , March 1, 2022, 6 min
What if everything we did in our cities had to work for both an eight-year-old, and an eighty-year-old? Thatâs the premise behind Gil Penalosaâs work, founder and chair of 8 80 Cities, who has worked in many cities worldwide as an urban planner. Every week he invites guests to speak about cities, parks and green Read more â
Marta Briones, November 9, 2021, 6 min
The Covid-19 pandemic brought urban life to a halt and turned childrenâs lives upside-down overnight. Across the world, children no longer had lessons or physical contact with their friends, and could not play or exercise outdoor. Strict lockdowns and mobility restrictions have shown the importance of more and better public spaces in our cities. Nearly Read more â
Sheridan Bartlett, October 15, 2021, 16 min
In todayâs urbanising world, we are rapidly losing the green spaces that are so vital to our health and well-being. Here, I share some especially compelling research on the benefits of these spaces and the costs of doing without them, particularly for children. These findings date back to the mid-1990s. Yet they continue to provide Read more â
Anupama Nallari, September 17, 2021, 13 min
Despite being the âgreenestâ, children in slums and informal settlements have little access to the safe green spaces which are vital to their well-being, health and development. In this blog I ask, how can cities better connect these communities to national and city-level urban green investments and support grassroots greening initiatives? Why are children in Read more â
