Towards child-friendly and walkable cities: Children’s insights on neighbourhood design

Current urban design practices often fail to recognise streets as social and inclusive spaces, restricting children’s freedom to walk, cycle, and enjoy public spaces. Cities are typically designed by adult urban planners with a car-centred focus, and they frequently overlook the health and wellbeing benefits of walkable neighbourhoods as well as children’s rights to use and participate in the planning of these public places. This paper draws on 19 map-based focus groups with 76 children (aged 9–10) from four different schools and neighbourhoods in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, to explore children’s views on their neighbourhood design. This in-depth qualitative study aims to identify built environment features that may encourage or discourage walking and cycling based on children’s experiences. Using rigorous qualitative GIS mapping and thematic analysis, the findings emphasise children’s need for safe active travel infrastructure and connected streets, well-maintained green spaces, and cohesive communities. This evidence provides new insights into the relationship between the physical environment and children’s experiences, making an original contribution to the field of child-friendly cities by offering practical recommendations to integrate children’s needs into the urban planning and design process, towards equitable cities that support active and healthy lifestyles for all.