This is a powerful document and the argument a no-brainer if we want good urban journeys and good urban spaces - and if we want to take our responsibilities to children seriously. As well as practitioners, urban, children’s and transport geographers could all learn a lot.

Playing Out@playingout.bsky.social · 6mo ago

“Streets for play, streets for freedom” by @aliceferguson.bsky.social & @timrgill.bsky.social makes the case for a "child lens" on transport policy. Time to prioritise those most impacted yet least considered in planning our streets: Children. Read more here: playingout.net/take-action/...

NSPCC calls for walkable, low-traffic & car-free streets to safeguard children “walkable neighbourhoods, with low-traffic or car-free streets, strong visual connections between homes and shared spaces and micro-scale features such as small play pockets, to support children’s everyday independence”

NSPCC calls for walkable, low-traffic and car-free streets to safeguard children

Leading UK children's charity releases toolkit and calls on built environment to enshrine child safeguarding into the property development cycle

thedeveloper.live

“…disabled people are actually less likely to drive than nondisabled people and more likely to get around by walking and rolling and taking transit. Car-heavy cities are also disproportionately dangerous for disabled folks…”— @nondriver.bsky.social Don’t use accessibility “as a political football.”

Do car-free zones hurt disabled people? We asked experts.

City planners and advocates are seeing "accessibility used as a political football."

motherjones.com

When we talk about outdoor play for children, many people picture swings or slides. But what about 'natural play'? Splashing in puddles & making dens can nurture children's creativity, resilience & build connection to nature. This webinar explores why it matters: www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/pl...

There's still time to register for our free webinar: 'Plants, puddles & possibility: the importance of natural play for children' Discover what we mean by 'natural play' & explore the evidence on why it matters for children. 📆 Monday 26 January 🕰️11.30am - 1pm 🖇️ www.tcpa.org.uk/event/plants...

From muddy knees to makeshift dens, everyday playful encounters with nature are important in childhood. Our free webinar on 26 January will explore why natural play matters for children, especially those living in dense, risk-averse & urban environments. Agenda & registrations: shorturl.at/320yq

Holy moly - Welsh Government have approved side-road zebras! www.gov.wales/written-stat...

Written Statement: Side Road Zebra Crossings in Wales | GOV.WALES

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales

gov.wales

In the @uk.theconversation.com, I rehearse - in briefer form - my arguments _for_ play in grey space, arguing that it affords opportunities for play, connection and care that green space often can’t, and that it’s politically important to value play in these spaces.

Children should have a right to play in the streets, alleys, pavements and car parks of their neighbourhoods

Play isn’t just for playgrounds.

theconversation.com

This is appalling. It seems the parish council made a mistake, and some adults complained. And it's children and young people who lose out, with plans for a new play space pushed into next year at least. It's the sound of children playing, FFS.

Pharmacist on a Pushbike@ppushbike.bsky.social · 11mo ago

A play facility that was paid for by community fundraising has been demolished because residents complained about the noise. They should be ashamed of themselves www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This summer, 40 Stockholm streets have gone car-free. Deputy Mayor: “Change makes people nervous, and they don’t like when it feels forced. So, [we] frame these road closures like a fun little experiment that can go away if people don’t like them.” Source: www.politico.eu/newsletter/g...

Skate park, bike parking, bus station, Saturday evening in Hiroshima #japan #urbanlandscape

“Compared to their parents’ generation, the amount of time today’s children play outside has declined by 50%. But this downward trend doesn’t have to be inevitable. Thoughtful planning, which listens to the voices of children and young people, can produce… environments where children can develop”

UK children face barriers to outdoor play due to poor planning, says study

‘Fragmented’ policies leading councils to prioritise approval of housebuilding over parks, researchers find

theguardian.com

😎 I was very chuffed to be interviewed by @lauriewinkless.bsky.social for her @forbes.com feature ‘How Can We Make Our Cities More Child-Friendly?’ #HelenWoolley and I reflect on our respective research on planning & designing cities that take children’s rights seriously @sheffielduni.bsky.social

How Can We Make Our Cities More Child-Friendly?

U.K.-based researchers say that we're failing children when it comes to urban design, ignoring their fundamental right to play in our cities.

forbes.com

My latest article for @forbes.com is all about the importance of incorporating play in cities (spoiler alert: playgrounds aren't enough!) 👩‍🔬⚛️🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/laurie...

How Can We Make Our Cities More Child-Friendly?

UK-based researchers say that we're failing children when it comes to urban design, ignoring their fundamental right to play in our cities.

forbes.com

Resharing my latest @forbes.com article - it's about play in cities, and how we're not doing enough to meet the needs of children. It features interviews with two experts in outdoor play from @sheffielduni.bsky.social ⚛️👩‍🔬🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/laurie...

How Can We Make Our Cities More Child-Friendly?

U.K.-based researchers say that we're failing children when it comes to urban design, ignoring their fundamental right to play in our cities.

forbes.com

Yesterday we launched the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play (@appgonplay.bsky.social) 🎉 We're already 40 MPs and Peers strong, working together to: ✅ Push for a National Play Strategy ✅ Champion play sufficiency law ✅ Put play back at the heart of childhood

Fabulous to see the launch of the APPG on Play @appgonplay.bsky.social - very hopeful that play will start be taken as seriously as it demands, with the hope of a new national play strategy and play sufficiency legislation.

Tom Hayes MP@tomhayesmp.bsky.social · last yr.

Yesterday we launched the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Play (@appgonplay.bsky.social) 🎉 We're already 40 MPs and Peers strong, working together to: ✅ Push for a National Play Strategy ✅ Champion play sufficiency law ✅ Put play back at the heart of childhood

“Places that allow for children’s play can create dynamic neighbourhoods, intergenerational encounters, and meaningful participation in urban spaces – if only we let it happen.” @playingout.bsky.social #playstreets are a great way to make this happen.

The Conversation UK@uk.theconversation.com · last yr.

Play should be promoted in cities to bolster children’s right to play anywhere.

Play should be promoted in cities to bolster children’s right to play anywhere.

How to give children the freedom to play all across the city – not just in playgrounds

Play should be promoted in cities to bolster children’s right to play anywhere.

tcnv.link

‘How to give children the freedom to #play across the city - not just in playgrounds’ My article in @uk.theconversation.com #Play creates dynamic neighbourhoods, intergenerational encounters, & meaningful participation in #urbanspaces – if only we let it happen theconversation.com/how-to-give-...

How to give children the freedom to play all across the city – not just in playgrounds

Play should be promoted in cities to bolster children’s right to play anywhere.

theconversation.com

Children have as much right to their streets as drivers. There is no legal basis for them being shoed off streets. And I have no doubt that cars - moving and parked - cause a nuisance for children. This is extraordinarily depressing from Manchester City Council. @playingout.bsky.social

Stevie Zero@stevie-zero.bsky.social · last yr.

Grim messaging from Manchester City Council 👀

Great work from Active Travel England pulling together these pledges from all (but one) of the regional mayors. The focus on routes to school (which are generally locally extensive and dense) is a good way of building popular support, and putting children first. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Twelve of England’s regional mayors back plan to create ‘national active travel network’

Exclusive: Unprecedented move to focus initially on helping children to walk, cycle or scoot to school safely

theguardian.com

Relatedly, if you’re on your way to Active City York today, or just enjoying a morning coffee, you can read about another failed attempt at creating safer streets for children - 50 years ago - in my article for Highways Magazine.

New research on #Play & #ChildrensRightToTheCity published in #JournalofUrbanDesign Exploring four international cases of #creativeplacemaking for #children / #play in Australia EU and UK It uncovers new evidence on the significance of #informalspaces to promote #urbanplay doi.org/10.1080/1357...

“With the exception of London, deprived settlements in England tend to have fewer, smaller and further-away playgrounds – a serious social justice issue.” Very much the situation in the parts of the north-east I’m working in, exacerbated by questions of quality and wider environments too.

Michael Martin@mic-martin.bsky.social · last yr.

Our article in @uk.theconversation.com reveals substantial #play inequalities across #England Paul Brindley & I looked at England’s largest settlements & mapped patterns from +18,000 #playgrounds within them Serious #socialjustice issues for #children exist!! theconversation.com/we-mapped-18...

Our article in @uk.theconversation.com reveals substantial #play inequalities across #England Paul Brindley & I looked at England’s largest settlements & mapped patterns from +18,000 #playgrounds within them Serious #socialjustice issues for #children exist!! theconversation.com/we-mapped-18...

We mapped 18,000 children’s playgrounds and revealed inequality across England

Our maps show some kids have nearer, bigger playgrounds than others.

theconversation.com

Our maps show some kids have nearer, bigger playgrounds than others.

We mapped 18,000 children’s playgrounds and revealed inequality across England

Our maps show some kids have nearer, bigger playgrounds than others.

tcnv.link

Play England's new strategy recognises all the ways children play & that it's not them that need fixing but the systems round them. bit.ly/43AoFlFC Congrats @eugeneminogue.bsky.social @profhelendodd.bsky.social @naomilott.bsky.social Paul Brindley @mic-martin.bsky.social @geekdadgamer.bsky.social

106415 Play England - Strategy Document FINAL

bit.ly

Shanghai's rapid and dramatic transformation from industrial hub to modern metropolis is best embodied by the East Bank of the Huangpu River. At the heart of the waterfront’s revitalization is a 21-kilometre linear park, with continuous—and sometimes elevated—space for walking, jogging and cycling.🧵

Happening today! Looking forward to our Urbanism Hour for @academyofurbanism.bsky.social this afternoon @13.00 ‘Shaping Urban Design as a Technical Vocation’ Details below…

The Academy of Urbanism (AoU)@academyofurbanism.bsky.social · last yr.

Tomorrow's Urbanism Hour, the last of the spring season, will look at the the 'why', 'who' and 'how' of urban design as a technical discipline with speakers Dr Philip Black and dR Michael Martin. Friday 25 April (online) with free Member tickets - register at: www.theaou.org/events/urban...