ABSTRACT
As the world’s population increasingly moves to cities, so the average childhood becomes an intensely urban experience. In many cultures and contexts, there will be little possible relief from the urban built form as the principal socializing environment for children and young people. This means that the majority of the physical contexts of contemporary children’s lives will be ‘man-made’ and this places a great onus on adult planners and designers to recognize and respond to the environmental needs of children (0–12 years) and youth (13–18 years). This chapter draws on the tradition of research in Western societies for the discussion of children’s and young people’s need for social inclusion and environmental provision in cities and city planning processes. Although it does not draw on the theoretical discussion of social and spatial justice, it nevertheless reflects the idea that a city needs to accommodate the needs of all its citizens and recognizes that the organization of space in any society reflects social power relations and priorities of that society. This discussion is also based on the premise that children are everyday users of cities, with rights to inclusion and environmental support in them (Iveson 2006).
