Legos, trains, blocks and books -- I'm certain my interest in urban planning was spurred by playing with toys like these that involved building and understanding how things work. With twin 5-year old boys at home, I'm intimately acquainted with the latest in toy trucks, games and DVDs for budding urban planners. I've gathered some of the best here, properly field tested by my boys, to help you with your holiday shopping list.
Bruder MB Garbage Truck ($55)
Children
The "Growing Divide" Between Cities With Kids and Cities Without Them
William Frey with the Brookings Institution explains that 1/3rd of the largest cities in the U.S. have seen significant losses of kids under 15, while babies are booming in the Southwest, Utah and Idaho.
Urban Land
Playgrounds Pop Up in New York
Neighborhoods in New York City have built temporary "pop-up" playgrounds in an effort to encourage more physical activity among children.
The New York Times
Germany Has Fewer Children, More in Poverty
The population of children in Germany continues to fall, and those that exist are increasingly in poverty.
Der Spiegel
Downtown Minneapolis Unprepared for Influx of Children
The amount of children under five has jumped in downtown Minneapolis, which is posing problems for the city and its school system.
Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune
The New Way to Play
New playground designs are shaking up public parks around the world. So long, slides, hello interpretive playscapes.
Dwell
Where Have All The Children Gone?
Decreasing fertility rates of non-Hispanic whites and black women, plus the tendency of families with children to cluster, have caused declines in the '18 and under' population share in 95% of U.S. counties.
USA Today - Census
Planning for Kids Makes Cities Better for All
While some cities have focused planning efforts on making their public spaces more accessible for the elderly, some argue that the age group they should be focusing on is kids.
Good
The Kids Are All Blight
The cities that often top the "most livable" lists like San Francisco, Portland, Boston and D.C. also happen to have the lowest percentage of households with children. Does that mean that kids make places un-livable?
Conservative Planner Blog
Cities Too Dangerous for Kids? Maybe Not
Cities are commonly thought of as dangerous places for kids to grow up. But a new study challenges that perception.
Grist
Urban Planning Gift Ideas For Children (Your Budding Planner)
Fri, 11/12/2010 - 11:27
Won't Somebody Think of the Children?
Kids make up a big part of city populations. But often the built environment doesn't reflect a world planned with children in mind. This post from Polis looks at an effort to put children's needs back in the minds of planners.
POLIS
Corner Stores and Fat Kids
Urban convenience stores are being further linked to childhood obesity after the release of a new study from Temple University.
Miller-McCune
Pearl District Revitalization Now Includes Kids
A new affordable housing development going up in Portland's dense Pearl District will include a public school on the ground floor.
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
Ban on Biking and Walking to School May Be Lifted
A 15-year-old ban on biking and walking to school in Saratoga Springs, New York may be lifted, after one bike-friendly parent challenged the policy.
Governing
Le Corbusier for Kids
A new picture book introduces the architecture and urban ideas of Le Corbusier to children.
Arcspace
The Importance of the Informal Playground
Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.
Regional Plan Association
Students Give Up Wheels for Their Own Two Feet
This piece from the New York Times looks at a program in Italy the encourages children to walk to school.
The New York Times
The joys of medium density
Thu, 01/22/2009 - 14:05
It is a chestnut of urban planning that a neighborhood must have a certain number of dwelling units per acre (usually around 8 or 10) in order to have adequate bus service. But the quarter-acre lot seems to get no respect: too dense for estate-home luxury, not dense enough to constitute "smart growth". But a 9 year-old girl recently taught me that, at least for children of a certain age, these medium-density neighborhoods have their advantages.
Cars, Kids, and a Safer Environment Through Planning
Urban areas are filled with cars, and this creates an unsafe environment for children. This commentary argues that officials need to regain their faith in the power of planning to address the issue.
Guardian
Where Do Child Care Centers Belong?
A Houston bedroom community decides against allowing childcare centers to mix with other businesses in strip centers.
The Houston Chronicle
