Tha Urban Hub Team @ Save the Children International, May 13, 2025, 11 min
This blog highlights practical, evidence-based actions and tools and guidance to make streets safer and more inclusive for children. From safer school zones to better walkability and cycling infrastructure, it shows how design, policy, and community engagement can transform urban streets into healthier, child-friendly spaces. The Urgent Need for Safer Streets for Children Road traffic Read more →
Yichen Wang, June 3, 2024, 6 min
It’s World Bicycle Day and time to celebrate pedal power! BYCS is expanding its Bicycle Mayor Network to foster more cycling-friendly cities worldwide. In this blog, Yichen Wang describes inspiring initiatives led by Bicycle Mayors worldwide, promoting cycling and inclusive public spaces. Why cycling? Cycling is one of the most inclusive, sustainable, and affordable modes Read more →
Global Designing Cities Initiative, May 28, 2024, 4 min
The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) is expanding its Streets for Kids program to more cities worldwide. This blog features their work in Istanbul, León, and Lima. It showcases how low-cost, relatively quick, and creative solutions can make streets safer for children and foster social life. City streets in low-and middle-income countries are increasingly unsafe, Read more →
Urban Hub Team at Save the Children International, May 7, 2024, 5 min
It’s Road Safety Week. We’re featuring Lusaka, Zambia, winner of the 2023 Vision Zero for Youth Award, and the impressive actions taken by the city to improve road safety for children since 2017. Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for children and youth According to the World Health Organization, road Read more →
Anna Siprikova, May 16, 2023, 8 min
Children experience street infrastructure uniquely. However, how we design streets doesn’t always consider children’s needs. This blog spotlights two successful street interventions in Fortaleza, Brazil and Santiago, Chile, which made streets more safe, active and sociable, benefitting children and adults. The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) Streets for Kids team is a group of urban Read more →
Cities4Children, May 9, 2023, 5 min
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 5 to 29 years. One of the most effective strategies to reduce road traffic crashes is to reduce speed limits to 30 km per hour or lower in areas where vulnerable road users Read more →
Annika Lundkvist , December 14, 2022, 7 min
Pedestrian Space is a media and advocacy platform that celebrates and promotes walkability in cities. In the last two years, Pedestrian Space has grown exponentially. We spoke with the founder Annika Lundkvist to find out more about her journey, why she feels pedestrian solutions are so critical, and how one person can generate content at Read more →
Lucas Snaije, November 8, 2022, 7 min
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 →
Richard Clarke, September 28, 2022, 10 min
‘Nothing seems to change until suddenly it does,’ writes Duncan Green in his book How Change Happens. The exponential growth of school streets over the past five years powerfully illustrates how urban change can sometimes be non-linear and transformational. What are school streets? School streets are vehicle-free areas outside schools (or vehicles have severely restricted access). Read more →
Cities4Children, August 16, 2022, 8 min
What are Open Streets? Why are they important for children, vulnerable groups and cities? What are the key ingredients that make Open Streets successful in cities? On 19 April 2022, Gil Peñalosa hosted an online webinar called Open Streets/Ciclovías: Meeting as Equals – Public Health Benefits where he and Dr. Olga L. Sarmiento addressed some Read more →
Eleanor Ross, June 3, 2022, 4 min
Swapping the car for a bike can work wonders for children and their caregivers, by making the city safer, more accessible and reducing emissions. Making our cities more cycle-able for children means making them more accessible for everyone. The World Health Organization estimates that well over two-thirds of adolescents aren’t active enough, and believe a Read more →
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 →
