7.1. Policy and practice implications

crime affected independent walking to social activities the most, with the street being off limits for the most part, as indicated by parents.

(iv) In the instances were play and social activities are allowed, the BE does little to support engaging current conditions, more so when crime has taken ownership of some childfriendly facilities, like parks and sports courts and out of fear, the community has seemingly abandoned the street. Nevertheless, children have discovered ways to negotiate the circumstances and appropriate the street when possible.

7.1. Policy and practice implications

When framing children’s independent walking from a social practice point of view, policy and decision making should both support independence and play through multilevel interventions targeting the family, the community, and neighbourhood. In the first case, this study has shown independent licence is mostly determined by the social environment, primarily criminal and violent activity. While these problematics might fall out of the roam of urban and transport planning, interventions should aim at alleviating them and promoting community engagement, sense of place and appropriation. Interventions like Liga Peatonal’s ‘Caminito de la escuela’ in Mexico D.F. (Corres and González, 2018) engage the community in support of children’s everyday journeys. Through a letter of commitment, a training session and a sticker on the door, neighbours, shop owners and the extended community pledge to support children in instances of bullying, harassment, suspicious people and any situation that might threaten their safety. These types of interventions place the community in favour of children, their wellbeing and independence, while building social networks that promote trust and refuge for children, caretakers, and neighbours.

Given the state of child-friendly infrastructure in Aguablanca district, its narrow residential streets have immense potential to be the meeting place where children and adolescents play or socialise. According to Peña-Rivera and López-Navarrete (forthcoming), while the interest is not to place children in harm’s way, reclaiming the streets from crime is crucial to support play and CIM. Considering the existing budget constraints in the global south, particularly in low-income neighbourhoods, initiatives should aim to promote the street as a social space, through traffic calming interventions as well as community events. Considering the BE from children’s perspective is essential. Attachment and affordance lenses can provide valuable insights for practice. Interventions should increase the number