Cities4Children Blog

This is our platform for sharing insights, ideas for actions, conversations and innovations that make cities better for children and young people.

Conversations: Does the 15-minute city work for children and caregivers?

Child Care

ITDP’s new report, 15-Minute-Neighbourhoods: Access and Babies, Toddlers and Their Caregivers, has been released, and this webinar discussed how this can contribute to urban wellbeing. The conversation was moderated by Ankita Chakra, Knowledge for Policy Director at the Bernard van Leer Foundation. The panelists included Aimee Gaulthier, Chief Knowledge Officer at ITDP, Iwona Alfred, Program Read more →

Recognize the frontline workers supporting street children

Street Children

On this year’s International Day for Street Children, we’re celebrating frontline workers and reminding the world about the vital role they play. Street child – what do those words evoke?  Does it stir mental images of material need: a child desperate for shelter, better clothing, more regular meals, medicines, or to go to school?    Read more →

Ideas4Action: Six ways to design safer school zones

Participation

A good measure of how child-friendly a city is, is how well children can independently play, connect socially, and access schools. After numerous waves of Covid-19, parents across India and the rest of the world, remain concerned about letting their children ride public transport and school buses. This behaviour change can accelerate motor-vehicle dependency for school-related commutes Read more →

Why child-friendly urban design matters

Urban Issues

If current trends continue, the future of humankind is in cities, and urban childhoods are set to become the global norm. Yet, as they grow, few cities work well for their inhabitants. Too many – in high-, middle- and low-income countries – are polluted, car-dominated and inequitable. How might we improve the built form of cities Read more →

WASH and urban children: How can NGOs support equitable provision?

WASH

The Global Alliance – Cities4Children has recently published an evidence-to-action brief on urban children and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene). This blog highlights some of the key ways NGOs can support the design and delivery of programmes designed to address WASH provision in urban areas. Well over half of urban children in the global South, Read more →

Ideas4Action: How to Create a Happy City

Participation

Ahead of this year’s International Day of Happiness, we take a look at what can make cities happy places, and what urban planners and those in power can do to bring more  joy and life to cities. Cities are rarely depicted as happy places. In films, they’re either overcrowded and full of stressed people dodging Read more →

International Women’s Day 2022: Some highlights from our members

Gender

This International Women’s Day, the Global Alliance – Cities4Children, asked member organisations about the work they do with women and girls in cities around the world. We also asked them to flag any surprising statistics, critical projects, or issues that they have worked on and which predominantly affected girls. Finally, our partners shared some reports Read more →