Child-Friendly Cities: What My Toddler Taught Me about City Design

In a post from the new Plan.Place blog, the author explores the city with a two-year-old as his guide and offers reflections on viewing the urban landscape anew--from an elevation of 34 inches and with a renewed sense of wonder.

1 minute read

February 5, 2015, 6:00 AM PST

By Plan.Place


Children Playing

Lessadar / Shutterstock

Exploring his urban neighborhood with his two-year-old daughter, the author finds himself "viewing the urban landscape anew through her eyes—specifically, from an elevation of 34 inches and with a renewed sense of wonder. The transition to parenthood over the past couple of years has not only transformed the routines and rhythms of daily life, but has forced me to reassess and revise many longstanding priorities, assumptions and presumed understandings. Not exempt from this changing worldview has been the perspective from which I approach my work as an urban planner and how I think about cities and urban neighborhoods in general."

"As a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about children: their place in cities and how to design neighborhoods for them. I’ve learned to look at familiar places and spaces in new ways. And witnessing my daughter’s cognitive and physical development progress on each walk and visit to the park, I’ve also, unexpectedly, found myself drawn to research related to the built environment from disciplines I might never have touched a few years ago—environmental psychology, neuroscience, education and child development, behavioral economics, and (yikes!) parenting blogs."

The author provides "field observations" from walks with his daughter, reassessing established assumptions from his practice as an urban planner, with the help of "a 34-inch sub-consultant." 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 in Plan.Place

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of front of blue locomotive with Amtrak logo.

What the US Intercity Rail System Could Look Like

An FRA study shows how new Amtrak lines could connect tens of millions more Americans to rail travel.

January 30, 2025 - Fast Company

View up at US Department of Housing and Urban Development building in Washington, D.C.

National Housing Group Criticizes Executive Orders

The National Low Income Housing Coalition issued a statement charging that Trump’s executive orders would worsen the housing crisis.

January 27, 2025 - National Low Income Housing Coalition

Amtrak train with downtown Seattle in background.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record

The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

February 2, 2025 - Daily Hive

Asphalt road heading toward Bears Ears National Monument in Utah in winter.

National Monuments Under Threat From Mining Under New Executive Order

An executive order from the Department of the Interior could gut protections for public lands established under the Antiquities Act.

2 minutes ago - Bloomberg Law

Two bicycles in apartment building stairwell landing with white painted brick walls.

Single-Stair Reform Gains Strength

The movement to legalize single-stair multi-story buildings is gathering momentum, with the typology offering a more efficient, flexible, and healthy way to build housing.

1 hour ago - Greater Greater Washington

Multiple MBTA buses parked in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Boston Bus Signal Priority Project Yields Faster Travel Times

The city now plans to expand a year-long pilot project that reduced the time buses waited at traffic signals.

2 hours ago - Cities Today