ABSTRACT

Informed by broad social assumptions, transport planning has traditionally obliged to the travel needs of the average (Vasconcellos, 2001; Levy, 2013b). In this process, children’s imaginaries and aspirations have been overlooked and dominated by an adult world were mobility is regarded as going efficiently from A to B. Challenging this view, this research considers children’s mobility as a practice that involves walking, playing and socialising, and the means by which children ‘perceive, feel and act in the world’ (Lester and Russell, 2010). Thus, it recognises children’s everyday pedestrian practices matter, and greater independence significantly contributes to their well-being and participation in urban life.

Given the lack of attention to children’s independent mobility and play in the global south, this study analyses their impressions in a low-income neighbourhood in Cali, Colombia. Through a socio-ecological framework that incorporates the concepts of attachment and affordance, the study explores independent licence, walking perceptions and experiences, community ties and sociability. Findings suggest that in this context, independence is the result of constant negotiations between children, parents and household dynamics. In this sense, unlike many cities in the global north, while children have high levels of independence for essential journeys, their freedom to roam, play and socialise is more restricted. While road safety has an important role in their perceptions, the changing circumstances in the social environment in terms of high levels crime and violence are crucial determinants in their participation in the neighbourhood in terms of play and social engagement. Policies should promote greater freedom and playability through strategies that facilitate rich social and physical affordances with a focus on community participation and the appropriation of the street as a meeting place.

Key words: Children’s independent mobility; Walk; Play; Socialising; Colombia