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.

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”

“…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.”

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...

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.

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.

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”

😎 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

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...

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...

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.

“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.

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

‘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-...

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

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...

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.

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

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

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…

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...

"The objective is therefore not to create specific facilities for children, but to consider the place of young people in order to improve public spaces for the benefit of all." theconversation.com/pourquoi-les...

Play - and children's urgent need for more of it - has had a lot of UK media coverage recently. This is VERY GOOD. It has also brought out some common misconceptions. So, in the interests of myth-busting, here are some responses to these...

This looks like a really important piece of work - access to playgrounds is a really key part of thinking about the geographies of children’s neighbourhood play - look forward to reading it

NEW #Playgrounds research w. #PaulBrindley #YueshanMa #RuiWang & #HelenWoolley published in #LandMDPI Using #opensource data we explore 33,736 #playgrounds in #England Our study generates a new framework to help reduce #play inequalities nationally FREE TO ACCESS doi.org/10.3390/land14030477

Today sees the release of the Children’s Walking and Cycling Index report - the first of it’s kind - sponsored by Halfords Children are often overlooked by decision-makers and officers in transport, or if they are considered, it's on the school journey.

Massive thanks to #UrbanDesignGroup for hosting last night’s event in #AlanBaxterGallery for our book #AppliedUrbanDesign 📕! Fab chatting w. practitioners across the #builtenvironment- thanks so much for coming! PhilBlack BobPhillips & I had a blast! Very cool to see our 📕 in #RIBA bookshop too 😎

What’s striking from this webinar (and from many other similar seminars and conferences I’ve been too recently) is how badly UK towns and cities are doing in thinking innovatively and strategically about children’s play and mobility.

"A city that is really concerned with the needs of its young will make the whole environment accessible to them, because, whether invited to or not, they are going to use the whole environment" Colin Ward in 'Child in the City'. See: urbanspringtime.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-... #publicspace #play

Great session with @mic-martin.bsky.social and Philip Black introducing their new book Applied Urban Design, which sets out a framework for contextually responsive urban design. Look forward to reading it properly!

We are off to Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 this morning to present our new Routledge book #AppliedUrbanDesign 📕 @cardiffuni.bsky.social Big thanks to colleagues across the Schools of Geography & Planning + Architecture for hosting us. Room 1.67 in the Glamorgan Building from 16.00 if interested - All welcome!

The new Raccoon Park in Midtown, Toronto.

Boissy-le-Chatel (77) A skateable work of art 🛹 - Constructo Skatepark + Inout Concept (design) / MBL Architectes + bureau David Apheceix (architects) / Camille Fréchou (landscaper) / Vulcano Skatepark (construction) 2019 www.constructo.fr/boissy-le-ch...

"I aspire to contribute to sustainable and equitable urban spaces that cater to all members of society while promoting diversity and inclusion within the built environment." - RTPI Trust Undergraduate Bursary recipient Milli Mahil 2025 Applications close 12 Feb. www.rtpi.org.uk/blog/2025/ja...

Really looking forward to reading @dbornat.bsky.social’s book - it’ll be a really important contribution to the developing case for taking children’s place - and space for play - in their neighbourhoods much more seriously

Wow congratulations! What a great project!

Congratulations @mic-martin.bsky.social - a great project on impacts of density on children's health and wellbeing

So pleased our project 'Growing Up in Dense Cities' has won a @wunetwork.bsky.social #ResearchDevelopmentAward. Together w. researchers in #Auckland #HongKong #Kampala #BeloHorizonte #Pretoria #Sydney & #UK we will explore impacts of density on children’s health & wellbeing wun.ac.uk/article/resu...

Burned-Out Parents Need Better Public Spaces. To ease the burden on families, we need places to let the kids roam free | By @langealexandra.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Many congratulations to @mic-martin.bsky.social for this fantastic achievement! Calling all practicing and aspiring urban designers…’Applied Urban Design’ is now out! 👇👇👇