Shaping urbanization for children A handbook on child-responsive urban planning © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) May 2018 All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify the information contained in this publication. For corrigenda subsequent to printing, please see www.unicef.org/publications. Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or nonprofit organizations. Please contact: Division of Data, Research and Policy, UNICEF 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA ISBN: 978-92-806-4960-4 Shaping urbanization for children A handbook on child-responsive urban planning May 2018 Page 2 Shaping urbanization for children: a handbook on child-responsive urban planning UNICEF Acknowledgements Author and Project Manager Contributions, inputs and/or review Jens Aerts This report would not have been possible had it not been for the invaluable inputs of many colleagues throughout UNICEF, in particular Managing Editor colleagues from Regional Offices, Headquarters, National Committees David Anthony and Country Offices throughout the world. External Reference Group Within UNICEF, specific thanks go to Bisi Agberemi, David Anthony, Anna Chow, Luigi Cipolla , Sebastien Goethals, Madina Junussova, Jan Beise, Jennie Bernstein, Luisa Brumana, Jasmina Byrne, Cristina Colon, Shipra Narang Suri and Anastasia Velnidis (ISOCARP); Shlomo Angel Mitchell Cook, Clarice Da Silva e Paula, Marija Adrianna de Wijn, (NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management); Sachin Bhoite (ARUP Timothy Grieve, Paulina Gruszczynski, Lusungu Kayani, Erica Kochi, International Development); Roger Hart (NYU Children’s Environments Barbara Kroll, Roland Kupka, George Laryea-Adjei, Michele Paba, Research Group); Michael Kodransky (Institute for Transportation and Jamal Shah, Tom Slaymaker, Anthony Spalton, Julia Stricker, Toby Wicks, Development Policy); Laura Lima (Cities Alliance); Braulio Eduardo Morea, Danzhen You, Renata Zanetti. Brett Mons and Michael Schwebel (100 Resilient Cities); Giselle Sebag, Warren Smith (African Centre for Cities); Shin-pei Tsay (Gehl Institute) and Special thanks go to the International Society of City and Regional Benjamin Welle (WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities). Planners (lSOCARP) for facilitating input from their members. Research Sincere appreciation goes to Samer Saliba (International Rescue Yoonie Choi, Jordan Cosby, Yana Tukvachinski Committee), Avi Silverman (FIA Foundation), Sudhvir Singh (EAT) and Darell Hammond (Bernard van Leer Foundation) for sharing their knowledge and for Design and production discussing findings that have been invaluable during the report’s production. Design and content strategy: Olga Oleszczuk, Shangning Wang, Cecilia Beatriz Silva Special thanks go to Daniel Rhoads, Albert Solé-Ribalta and Javier Borge- Holthoefer (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) for producing maps on urban Visualizations: Shangning Wang spatial inequity. Layout: Big Yellow Taxi, Inc. Sincere thanks for all the individuals and organizations that have helped us to gather accurate information and inspiring visualisations for this Photo management: Jordan Cosby handbook. Production support: Anna Mukerjee Copy-editing and proofreading: Emilie Oyen, Anna Mukerjee UNICEF Shaping urbanization for children: a handbook on child-responsive urban planning Page 3 Table of contents Part 1 Part 2 About the handbook Shaping urbanization Localizing children’s rights for children matters and urban planning principles Why planning cities for children page 11 page 67 matters ............................................................4 1 4 Why plan cities for children? Urban spaces Children’s Rights and Urban Planning Principles .........................................................5 • What is the urban challenge? ..................12 • Principle 2 Housing and Land Tenure ......69 • Why focus on children? ..........................20 • Principle 3 Public Amenities ....................83 How to plan child-responsive urban settings .....5 • Why urban planning matters? .................32 • Principle 4 Public Spaces ........................97 Who is the handbook for .................................6 The purpose of the handbook ..........................8 Defining a child-responsive Urban systems How to use the handbook ...............................9 urban setting • Principle 5 Transportation Systems .......109 2 page 37 • Principle 6 Integrated Urban Water What should we plan for children? and Sanitation Management Systems ..123 • Principle 7 Food Systems ......................137 • Child-responsiveness, benefits and programme areas ....................................38 • Principle 8 Waste Cycle Systems ..........149 Resources • Child-responsive urban settings ..............42 Urban networks • Children’s Rights and Urban Planning Glossary .......................................................184 Principles ................................................44 • Principle 9 Energy Networks ................161 Endnotes .....................................................186 • Principle 10 Data and ICT Networks .....173 Credits .........................................................189 Shaping child-responsive urban settings 3 page 49 How to plan for children? • Planning space for children and the community ..............................................51 • Designing the process with children and the community .................................55 • Using evidence about children and the community ..............................................57 Checklist Children’s Rights and Urban Planning ........................................62 Page 4 Shaping urbanization for children: a handbook on child-responsive urban planning UNICEF About the handbook Shaping urbanization for children, a handbook and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, thereby environment constraints children’s access on child-responsive urban planning, presents putting stress on the environment and the to urban services in a physical way, due to concepts, evidence and technical strategies cities themselves. Improved use of urban unequal distribution, ineffective planning and to bring children to the foreground of urban resource systems necessitates innovation lack of quality in design and construction. It planning. By focusing on children, this in terms of energy efficiency, and in forging leads to urban-specific environmental health publication provides guidance on the central sustainable lifestyles. As children’s behaviour problems that health support systems cannot role that urban planning should play in is moulded by their ongoing interaction with address alone and shifts the focus from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals the urban environment, children’s participation communicable to non-communicable diseases. (SDGs), from a global perspective to a local in shaping sustainable cities will be a The built environment also reveals itself as context, by creating thriving and equitable determinant for the future of our cities and for a threat when children and their caretakers cities where children live in healthy, safe, our planet. cannot evaluate risks, be prepared or be safe. inclusive, green and prosperous communities. Finally, the built environment also influences to Cities are drivers of prosperity, but also what extend children’s participation is possible, Why planning cities for of inequity. Although mostly overlooked, in terms of public space where children can inequity has a spatial dimension that congregate and other infrastructure that allows children matters makes children vulnerable. Spatial inequity physical, social and digital connectivity. Analysis of the main urban contexts shows manifests itself in various ways and reveals that urbanization does not necessarily the importance of land value, land tenure, land The built environment offers realms of induce sustainable urban environments for use and the planning and management of the opportunity where cities commit to the children. Firstly, the total numbers of slum spatial characteristics of the built environment. respect of children’s rights and planning for dwellers have grown to 880 million, despite Children and their families, especially the equity. Given the global trend in urbanization, efforts to upgrade slums. An estimated most disadvantaged, are confronted with there is significant potential to engage with 300 million of the global population of slum spatial inequity in multiple ways: the high children in the decisions that affect their dwellers are children, who suffer from cost of living and access to urban services; physical urban environment, their interaction multiple deprivations, live without a voice the unequal geo-spatial distribution to urban with urban resource systems and shape their and have no access to land, housing and services; the poor characteristics of the built behaviour. The recognition of childhood as services. Secondly, without investment in environment; and the inequitable spatial a crucial time for children to gain access to planning, urban expansion mostly occurs in distribution of land and urban space. the urban setting and enjoy its advantages, a fragmented way, with limited centrality, a is key to define spatial solutions for all ages. lack of public space and no compactness in An unsustainable built environment has Child-responsive urban settings resonate urban form. For children, it means unhealthy diminishing returns on service delivery qualities that many scholars have described