Description

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Making a city that works for children creates a city that better serves all of its residents across ages and abilities. Yet we have created unsafe street conditions for children in cities around the world. Every day, more than 500 children die in road crashes globally. The physical and mental health benefits of walking and biking are challenged by speeding traffic and unsafe pedestrian rights of way. Streets that are designed with the needs of children and their caregivers in mind have been shown to improve road safety, health, and quality of life.

Building on the success of their Global Street Design Guide, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)-Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) Streets for Kids program has developed child-focused design guidance to inspire leaders, inform practitioners, and empower communities around the world to consider their city from the eyes of a child.

The guidance in Designing Streets for Kids captures international best practices, strategies, programs, and policies that cities around the world have used to design streets and public spaces that are safe and appealing to children from their earliest days. The guidance also highlights tactics for engaging children in the design process, an often-overlooked approach that can dramatically transform how streets are designed and used.

From addressing the lack of mobility options to noise and air pollution, this graphics-rich guide will help to design better streets, and thereby better cities, for kids of all ages and their caregivers. Designing Streets for Kids provides both inspiration and application. By focusing specifically on children and caregivers, this book fills a significant void in physical urban design guidance.

About the Author

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Launched in 2014, the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) focuses on the critical role of streets around the world. GDCI is committed to raising the state of the practice for street design and sustainable transportation by building a common vision, providing technical assistance and design guidance, sharing data, and supporting peer-to-peer exchanges and regular communication among international cities. GDCI's Streets for Kids program is generously supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, FIA Foundation, and Fondation Botnar.
 

Praise For…

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"For too long, cities have ignored children's needs and wishes and allowed the car to reign supreme. The climate crisis, an epidemic of inactivity, and environmental degradation all add to the case for change. Designing Streets for Kids is a timely, comprehensive guide to creating safe, sociable streets and neighborhoods, making cities more sustainable and livable for everyone."
— Tim GIll, author of "No Fear" and international expert on childhood development

"If you design a street that works for kids, you design a street that works for everyone. Designing Streets for Kids shows how cities can lead by design to improve the quality of life for people everywhere."
— Janette Sadik-Khan, NACTO-GDCI Chair

"Urban design is the most important thing we can do to make streets safer for everyone. Using the design principles in Designing Streets for Kids, we can start today by building streets from a child's perspective."
— Roberto Claudio, Mayor of Fortaleza, Brazil

"Safe streets are essential so that everyone in cities can have access to the same opportunities and the same quality of life. Designing Streets for Kids helps give our youngest residents and their caregivers the option to get around as safely and easily on foot, bus, or bike as anyone in a car."
— Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana, Albania

"Streets designed for the safety of children aren't just safer, they are the foundation of a city with less driving, less traffic, and less pollution. This guide lays the groundwork for all street users to have healthier, happier lives."
— Gonzalo Duran Baronti, Mayor of Independencia, Santiago de Chile, Chile