PLAY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

In brief

• As we move into the ‘new normal’ there is a real risk that the momentum prompted by the pandemic to rethink and reshape our local areas is lost.
• The challenge facing local authorities and their partners is how to harness the opportunity presented by the pandemic to reimagine cities and communities from children’s perspective.
• Using children’s rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, can be one of the most powerful tools to do so. A child rights-based approach not only pulls out the clear links between the availability, quality and safety of public spaces and children’s right to health, development, or leisure time, for example, but offers practical tools for bringing children to the centre of the planning and design process.