Twelve Ways We Can Make Our Cities More Child-Friendly

For far too long, many people have considered family life and urban life as being mutually exclusive. That trend is slowly reversing, as more and more parents choose to raise their kids in urban areas. However, city builders often fail to consider their smallest, most vulnerable users. As Enrique Peñalosa famously said: “”Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.”

The following slideshow describes twelve ways we can make our cities more amenable to kids. These are by no means a comprehensive list, but are designed as a conversation starter. Have any suggestions? Leave them in the comments section!

1. THE STREET AS A PLAYGROUND -
Sometimes, creating a unique sense of place can be as simple as hanging a swing from a tree. It’s an inexpensive and thoughtful gesture, and one that encourages kids to loiter, play, and utilize the entire street as a playground. Our family stumbled across this swing on Irving Street in S.F., which instantly became a highlight of our sightseeing afternoon.

2. SPACE FOR CYCLING/SCOOTING - Most kids get their first taste of freedom on a bicycle, scooter, or skateboard. Tragically, there are precious few safe spaces in which to enjoy that autonomy, having long been relegated to parks and quiet, neighbourhood streets, making riding for transportation virtually impossible. The real visionary cities are ones that are providing cycle tracks on busy, destination lined high streets, where families actually want to live, shop, and play.

3. ACCESSIBLE & FUN PARKLETS - Parklets have become a fashionable and painless way to convert space allocated for on street automobile storage into shared public space. However, it is important that we design these features for users of all ages. The vast majority are simply used as private patios for cafes and restaurants, but it doesn’t have to be that way. This parklet, found on L.A.’s Spring Street, includes public seating, stationary bikes, and a foosball table!

4. PLAYFUL & PLENTIFUL CROSSWALKS - On far too many streets, crosswalks are limited to major intersections; making getting from one side to the other a difficult and dangerous task. This often requires walking several blocks just to reach one, which is particularly difficult for little legs. Playful and plentiful crosswalks – such as this one in Montréal’s Mont-Royal – make crossing the street convenient, safe and fun, forcing drivers to slow down and become more alert.

5. SHARED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - When the “Keys To The Streets” program unleashed four public pianos onto unsuspecting Vancouverites last summer, the results were extraordinary. Public plazas were quickly transformed into impromptu concert venues, as citizens gathered with various instruments (or just their voices) to join in on the action. Our family couldn’t pass one of these pianos without stopping and messing around on it for a half hour.

6. ACTIVATING OUR ALLEYWAYS - Alleyways are another otherwise wasted space waiting for reclamation, with little expense or possibility of controversy. This particular alleyway – off of Fraser Street in South Vancouver – cost little more than a few tins of paint, and provides a secure, visually appealing, much-needed social gathering place for adults and children alike.

7. MEANINGFUL STREET ART - Street art has long been accepted as a way to beautify blank surfaces, and promote civic pride. When done in a meaningful manner, it also provokes thought, and rewards those who move about the city at a slower pace. The “Main Street Trail” project – initiated by a group of poets in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant – had our family scouring the length of Main Street (by foot and bicycle) for weeks that summer, in search of the newest poem.

8. RE-IMAGINE SURFACE PARKING - It is difficult to understate the devastating affect that surface parking has on the vibrancy and walkability of a given neighbourhood. This parking lot – formerly used by a bank in Long Beach – has since been retrofitted with some yellow paint, a bicycle corral, two kickball stands, several chairs and umbrellas, and a wonderful mural of Jim Morrison.

9. ENCOURAGE SIDEWALK DINING - The breaking of bread has always been a social act, yet increasingly, our society is doing it behind fences, railings, and closed doors. Sidewalk patios are a fantastic way to reverse that trend, and return eating to the more communal act it once was. This corner store in Montréal’s Mile End set up diner-style tables on the sidewalk, inspiring families to stop and interact with their neighbours over breakfast, lunch or dinner.

10. ACCESS TO WATER - It doesn’t matter where I’m travelling with my kids; we somehow always end up near water. While hanging out at the beach is the ideal scenario, we sometimes don’t have that luxury. Wading pools, splash pads, and water fountains are a parent’s best friend, and give families a place to gather, especially in the harsh heat of summer. L.A.’s Grand Park is a great example, providing a wonderful urban oasis in the heart of the city.

11. A TOUCH OF WHIMSY - To a child, often the most whimsical of touches are the most memorable ones. Urban planners need to start looking at their work through their children’s eyes, encouraging active and interactive play at every opportunity. For example, this public staircase – in S.F.’s Fisherman’s Wharf – functions as a giant piano, with every tread playing a different note. It kept my kids occupied – and physically active – for the better part of an hour!

12. TAMING THE BULL - In general, anything that we can do to slow down motor vehicles, and make them feel like they are trespassing, will make our streets more kid-friendly. This includes – but is certainly not limited to – the narrowing of vehicle lanes, reduction of speed limits, blocking of through traffic, and an increase in the number of stop signs. Then – and only then – will children feel safe and welcome playing on the street outside their front door.

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Chris Bruntlett is a Residential Designer and father of two, living the (car-free) East Van dream. Outside of the office, he diligently documents the rise of mainstream bicycle culture via words, photographs, and film. He cherishes the ability to live and work in a dense, vibrant, sustainable city, and contribute to that vision on a daily basis. You can find Chris on Twitter: @cbruntlett

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