Urban Hub Team at Save the Children International, December 4, 2023, 8 min
Public spaces are crucial for children’s holistic development and wellbeing. Our new blog series showcases how public spaces can be made better for children. Using global examples from Cities4Children members and other initiatives, our aim is to spotlight ideas for action, innovation, programmes, policies and practice that make public spaces child friendly. Why are public Read more →
Urban Hub Team at Save the Children International, October 31, 2023, 8 min
Over 1 billion people – including close to 500 million children – live in slums and informal settlements, mostly in cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 2023, the UN-Habitat Assembly approved a historic new Global Action Plan to accelerate transforming these informal settlements and slums. This plan aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 11 Read more →
Andy Nilsen, September 13, 2023, 10 min
Andy Nilsen is the creator and Global Director of Shift, an innovative campaign accelerator model aimed at young activists aged 14-25, housed within Save the Children. In this piece, Nilsen delves into the origins of Shift and showcases standout urban campaigns from across the world, all nurtured by Shift. One Sunday morning, looking down from Read more →
Cities4Children, July 25, 2023, 9 min
The world is getting warmer. That much is clear. Recent reports highlight that 2023 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with heatwaves and extreme heat affecting people globally. Extreme heat is a genuine threat to life and impacts the vulnerable – the very young and the elderly – most of all. A Read more →
Cities4Children, June 13, 2023, 9 min
In dense, unplanned, and disadvantaged urban areas like slums and informal settlements, safe places and facilities where children can come together to learn, play, and access resources can be crucial for their health, development and wellbeing. In this blog, we share three types of facilities that deliver much-needed integrated services for children, young people and 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 →
Cities4Children, February 28, 2023, 9 min
Waste is a growing global problem which affects the health and well-being of people and the planet. Urban children in low-and middle-income countries, particularly the poorest, are among the most vulnerable to the health and environmental risks caused by poor waste management in cities. In this blog, to inspire our readers to take action, we Read more →
Nzisa Kioko and Sarah Sharpe, November 10, 2022, 7 min
Parents in Nairobi tell their stories about how climate change and air pollution are affecting the health of their children – and share their vision for a healthier, cleaner future. Children are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change, including the effects of heat and air pollution. African cities, including Nairobi, are facing Read more →
James Clacherty, October 25, 2022, 6 min
Emthonjenis are open-air learning spaces located around communal water taps in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa. They offer a safe space for children to access out-of-centre Early Childhood Development (ECD) services. We interviewed Phethang Mabeba, the ECD lead from Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU), to learn more about their model for combining Read more →
Tim Gill, October 11, 2022, 6 min
In his latest blog Tim Gill describes why adult catalysts are necessary for enabling child-friendly urban environments and argues that municipal champions who understand children’s views and needs have a key role in building ambitious programmes. Whenever children pretty much anywhere in the world are asked what they like and dislike about where they 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 →
