Building the case for children's spatial freedom
In this interview ahead of his presentation at the Play 2021 conference this week, the writer and researcher, Tim Gill suggests that the movement for more child-friendly built environments is gaining momentum; that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of space and time outside, especially for children; and that play advocates should seize the moment.
Tim, thanks for agreeing to speak at Play 2021. Much of your work is about how towns and cities respond to children. What would you say is the relationship between children’s play and the built environment?
Children will play almost anywhere if the conditions allow. The physical form of villages, towns and cities has a big influence on where they can play, and also on how and where they can get around the places where they live. In many contexts, it is the presence or absence of cars that is the key built environment influence. Hence my long-held interest in children’s mobility and transport planning.
What, therefore, is the role and responsibility of planners and designers in relation to children?
First, to get a better balance between the needs of car drivers and children in residential neighbourhoods, through measures that support walking and cycling and reduce the dominance of cars and traffic. Secondly, to increase the variety, quality and accessibility of public spaces where children of all ages and abilities can play and socialise. Given the clear evidence - in the UK and elsewhere - of social class gradients and poorer access by people of colour, tackling inequalities needs to be a priority.
Tell us about your recent book, Urban Playground?
Urban Playground aims to elevate the status of children in urban planning and design: to build the case for places that enhance their everyday spatial freedoms. In drawing not just on theory and argument, but also on real-life initiatives from leading cities, the book aims to persuade the as-yet unconverted and to bring child-friendly thinking into the mainstream. So far, the reaction from readers around the world has been very positive, which is encouraging, because I think there is a strong universal and global case for improving children’s place in the city.
The 2 dimensions of child-friendly planning and design. Credit: Sam Williams/Arup, based on the work of Marketta Kytta.
Do you see any signs of policymakers and city-builders responding to the challenges you highlight?
The topic is certainly gaining momentum in urban discussions, as shown by the rapid growth in books, guidance, and commentary, as well as the spread of NGO and grassroots/community activity. Having an impact on the ground will take longer, but I am encouraged by the reach and ambition of schemes like the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Urban95 initiative (which supported me in writing my book) and by the spread of ideas like play streets and school streets. Sooner or later, city leaders are going to have to take child-friendly urban planning more seriously, because of the clear links with urban responses to the climate crisis.
What do you think play advocates, especially in the UK, should do to have children’s right to play taken more seriously, as the recovery from Covid begins?
One positive from the grim year or so that has just passed is a greater awareness of the value of space and time out of doors, especially for children. Lockdowns have also brought home the value of good walking and cycling networks and access to local facilities. There is great scope for play advocates to build on these insights through strengthening alliances with those working in public health, green spaces and active travel. Even more so bearing in mind the huge challenge we all face in moving to a net-zero carbon world.
Tim Gill was interviewed by Adrian Voce
Tim Gill is speaking at Play 2021, the new conference on children, play and space being held online this Wednesday and Thursday, 7th and 8th July
See the full programme here.
Click on the logo to register for the event.
Tim Gill is a global advocate for children’s outdoor play and mobility, and an independent scholar, writer and consultant. He is the author of No Fear: Growing up in a risk-averse society (“a handbook for the movement for freer, riskier play” – Ellen Barry, New York Times) and Urban Playground: How child-friendly planning and design can save cities (“outlines the concrete steps needed to make cities healthier, more active, and more joyful places for everyone” - Olly Wainwright, The Guardian).
A former director of the Children’s Play Council (now Play England), Tim is a Design Council Ambassador and Churchill Fellow. He holds degrees from Oxford and London Universities, and an honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University.
Tim is on the international editorial board of the academic journal Children’s Geographies, and is a founding patron of the UK Forest School Association. His website is www.rethinkingchildhood.com.
