Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children, June 10, 2026, 9 min
Barcelona made a plan for children’s play for the ENTIRE city, placing children at the centre of its urban planning. We interviewed Maria Truno and Ariadna Miquel to understand how this happened, how it reshaped school surroundings, schoolyards and public spaces. This blog outlines what changed, how the Plan was designed and what other cities Read more →
Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children International, May 6, 2026, 8 min
Most streets in cities today are treated as conduits for cars rather than spaces for people. For children and families, more connected pedestrian streets would significantly improve neighbourhood quality of life. Pedestrian streets are car-free areas designed for people to walk, play, and spend time safely. Without motorised vehicles, we can unlock opportunities to create Read more →
Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children, April 14, 2026, 10 min
London’s evolution toward child-friendliness is a story of bold policies, visionary leaders, and grassroots action, interwoven with setbacks and lessons. This blog explores what drove progress, where gaps remain, and what other cities can learn. We interviewed Tim Gill, a long-time London resident, an advocate and expert on child-friendly cities, and a catalyst for transforming Read more →
Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children , January 13, 2026, 9 min
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. Read more →
Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children, August 12, 2025, 7 min
Many cities overlook teenagers in urban planning, leaving them without safe, welcoming places to gather, connect, and be themselves. From Cairo to Cuenca, examples show how co-creating teen-friendly public spaces can boost safety, inclusion, and well-being while making cities more vibrant for everyone. Does your city have spaces for teens to spend time with their Read more →
Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children and Aline Rahbany @ World Vision International, June 18, 2025, 9 min
As cities and towns become home to growing numbers of refugee and displaced children, local governments face urgent challenges to build inclusive, child-friendly urban spaces. This blog describes practical examples from Ramallah, Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Arsal, Lebanon, where municipalities and communities collaborate to improve public spaces and services for both host and refugee or Read more →
Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children, March 18, 2025, 8 min
Mapping with children is a powerful tool to understand their perspectives on their neighbourhoods, identify safety concerns, and highlight opportunities for improvement. This blog explores five innovative ways to map neighbourhoods with children, from creating child-friendly city maps to using drones for waste management and even mapping imaginary cities. What is mapping? Mapping tells a Read more →
Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy, Madhura Kulkarni and Chaitali Patil, July 9, 2024, 9 min
This blog describes how the innovative Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge (NNC) is promoting healthy early childhood development across 10 cities in India. It outlines seven key urban governance strategies for working with city governments that can strengthen the planning and management of cities to create inclusive and child-friendly spaces for young children and their caregivers. With 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 →
Anupama Nallari and Sarah Sabry at the urban Hub @ Save the Children, April 9, 2024, 7 min
The third blog in our ‘Public Space for Children’ series provides an overview of UN-Habitat’s ongoing 12-year Global Public Space Programme (GPSP) with a focus on interventions, tools and guidance that make public spaces better for children. In case you missed them, the first blog of the series spotlights public space interventions by our member Read more →
Tim Gill, February 20, 2024, 9 min
With growing worldwide interest in making cities more child-friendly, what approaches can municipalities take? Tim Gill sets out three models for local governments and explores the pros and cons of each. Child-friendly urban planning and design means taking children’s needs and wishes seriously when building or changing neighbourhoods, especially their public realm. Drawing on ideas Read more →
Sarah Sabry and Anupama Nallari at the Urban Hub @ Save the Children, January 24, 2024, 6 min
Are you an activist, built-environment practitioner, caregiver, or city official, who wants to improve your city or neighbourhood for children? It’s a new year – how about starting it off by doing a course on making cities safer, cleaner and greener for children. In this article we feature three online open access courses that introduce Read more →
