Let’s design towns that meet children’s needs
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Take a walk along most high streets and you’ll see empty retail units, tired-looking public spaces and an almost complete absence of facilities for children and young people.
The high street has been struggling for a decade but Covid lockdowns, the shift to online shopping and cost-of-living squeeze has seen its fortunes deteriorate further recently.
With many economists predicting a deep recession is inevitable, there is the real risk that high streets – the beating heart of many communities – could be hollowed out as retail chains take flight.
This presents a huge challenge for civic leaders as most town centres have been designed around the needs of retailers and cars. But, it also presents an opportunity to rethink the purpose of our urban spaces and remould them around the needs of children.
This could mean having a playground, skatepark or coding hub in the middle of the town rather than on the outskirts, turning empty shops into pop-up youth centres where young people can access support on training and leisure opportunities, or better integrating the physical places young people inhabit with where they meet online.
This is just the start. As Professor Aude Bicquelet-Lock, deputy head of policy and research at the Royal Town Planning Institute, explains, we need a “holistic approach” to child-friendly town planning. This means considering how to improve air quality, access to public transport, the types of food outlets available, and the mix of housing.
Some councils have already grasped this. For example, in Milton Keynes the design of a £35m town centre regeneration scheme incorporated ideas put forward by children who took part in a consultation using the computer game Minecraft. While in Liverpool, the regional combined authority has made tackling climate change the key consideration for all urban planning and transport decisions after young people put it as their top concern.
Amid the serious challenges facing communities, those representing children’s interests – leaders of children’s services, voluntary organisations and youth groups – all have a role in ensuring councils make planning decisions that better meet their needs. Giving young people a greater stake in the future of their civic spaces is also an investment in the long term – as they move into adulthood they are more likely to want to stay which will deliver economic benefits to the area.
