Cities4Children Blog

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

Why child-friendly urban design matters

Urban Issues

Tim Gill,

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

Sheridan Bartlett,

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

ParticipationIdeas4Action

Cities4Children,

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

Cities4Children ,

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 →

Ask an Expert: Tim Gill – “We need to reframe how we think about space”

Tim GIll - Ask an expert blog cover
Child ParticipationAsk An Expert

Cities4Children ,

We speak to Tim Gill, the founder of Rethinking Childhood and author of bestselling RIBA book Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Planning and Design Can Save Cities, about how he thinks children should be able to access cities as part of our Ask an Expert series. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  I’m Read more →

Ideas4Action: “We built hundreds of playgrounds and saw how vital play is”

Anthil Creations blog cover
PlayIdeas4Action

Cities4Children,

We interviewed Pooja Rai, the co-founder and CEO of Anthill Creations, to ask her about her journey to improve the lives of children through building hundreds of playgrounds across India. “Since starting Anthill Creations seven years ago, I’ve learned that mindsets can be changed simply by showing examples,” says Pooja Rai, co-founder and CEO of Read more →

Conversations: What impact can housing have on a child?

HousingConversations about Cities

Cities4Children ,

We may see a house as just that: a shelter and a space to call home. But what if that house is inadequate? If the house can’t be kept clean or it’s situated along a polluted, dusty road? What if it’s not safe, and even when they close the door, its residents can’t relax? What Read more →

How to a run a successful online art competition for young people

Housing

Cities 4 Children ,

There are plenty of benefits to engaging young people in contests and competitions. They provide space for creativity and for those who rarely have a voice to share personal reflections and knowledge.  But running a contest with input from young people across the world, spanning language and cultural barriers, isn’t always straightforward. Here’s what ICLEI Read more →

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

Nutrition

Sheridan Bartlett and Cecilia Tacoli ,

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. [bctt tweet=”In addition, rates of malnutrition are especially high among the urban poor, who must often face impediments to food security. ” username=”cities4children”] While obesity Read more →

Cities4Children: 2021 in review

Global Alliance - Cities 4 Children 2021 in review
Urban Issues

Cities4Children,

Launched at the World Urban Forum in 2020, the Global Alliance – Cities4Children was established to tackle the huge challenges and numerous issues faced by children living in urban areas, especially the most marginalized. The Alliance brings together a range of organisations from INGOs, UN agencies, private sector, academia, foundations and people’s movements – all Read more →