Designing Child-Friendly Cities: More Trouble than it's Worth?

If you've ever wanted to read sentences like "Children: Are they necessary?" in a non-Onion, national media platform, now's your chance. A new article, written by Lydia DePillis for The Washington Post, asks if designing and building child-friendly cities is more trouble than it's worth.

DePillis cites a 2001 study that quantified the burden of children compared to benefit of the singles: "Back in 2001, two scholars at the Brookings Institution put a price tag on that dichotomy. A two-parent family with two kids costs $6,200 annually, and a childless couple generates a net gain for the city of $13,000."

Then there are the negative consequences on inequality once wealthy families decide to stay in the city: "Professional families will only move to a neighborhood if they’re assured a spot in a quality school — but that locks out those who can no longer afford it." Successful schools, it seems, are a harbinger for gentrification.

The column includes more details on the arguments for why children can be so troubling to a city's bottom lines, and a policy recommendation from DePillis.