A Child Friendly City: Redesigning Urban Spaces for Child Mobility and Play

Abstract

Cities are rarely designed with children’s wants and needs in mind. Instead, they are shaped in ways that limit children’s opportunities for free play and independent mobility. These experiences are fundamental to children’s development and wellbeing, and their absence highlights a critical gap in contemporary urban design. This thesis investigates how such conditions shape and contribute to a child-friendly city and explores how urban environments can be redesigned to better support them. The research combines a literature review outlining the qualities that define a child friendly city, alongside an examination of the factors currently preventing cities from being considered child-friendly. It also includes a participatory workshop conducted with children to gain first-hand insight into their lived experiences, as well as a precedent analysis of places that are beginning to implement child-friendly interventions. Through this combined approach, the research identifies key spatial factors influencing children’s free play and independent mobility, including supported risk, flexibility, agency, and the inclusion of children’s voices. It also examines conditions and practices that should be avoided in child friendly urban design. These insights are translated into a set of adaptable design guidelines that prioritize children’s free play and independent mobility. Their application is demonstrated through three design proposals across sites of varying urban densities in Toronto, a city chosen for its wide range of urban conditions and openness to cultural and civic improvement projects. By positioning free play and independent mobility as central considerations in urban design, this thesis offers a practical framework for those seeking to create thriving and inclusive child-friendly cities.