Good planning is ‘essential’ to children’s recovery after Covid-19

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‘Meaningful’consultation key to planning eff ectively for children

Planners should engage children and young people at an early stage within policies, plans and developments rather than seeing them as an ‘add-on’ later, according to new RTPI guidance.

With around 20 per cent of the population in the UK aged under 16, the guidance starts from the premise that children face numerous challenges directly related to the built environment.

Th ese include poor-quality and overcrowded housing, high levels of pollution, limited access to good-quality green space and opportunities for play, and the eff ects of climate change.

Th e guidance further recognises the extent to which young lives have been aff ected by Covid-19 through lockdowns, school closures and reduced social interaction. It stresses the importance of “meaningful” consultation and engagement with children and young people in the planning process through the use of creative techniques such as Minecraft, Lego building, model-making, and arts and crafts.

Planners should also work closely with health and education professionals to understand the experience of children and to create spatial solutions that improve their lives.

RTPI president Wei Yang said: “Major disruption to education, alongside the limited opportunities to see friends and wider families, to play and enjoy activities and the worry about the impact of Covid-19 on their families, will have taken a heavy toll on some children – good town planning is essential if we are to help them recover. I am particularly pleased to see that one of the aims of this advice is to expand the scope of what is currently understood by most planning professionals as ‘planning for children’ – we must move beyond the provision of playgrounds and schools towards a more ambitious approach that encompasses all aspects of children’s lives.”

Th e guidance also urges planners to explore the use of the Real Play Coalition’s Urban Play Framework, a tool for assessing the critical factors behind a play-friendly environment to maximise child development and learning. Th is was recently fi eld-tested in Burnt Oak in the London Borough of Brent.

Children and Town Planning: Creating Places to Grow is available here (pdf): bit.ly/planner0921-children. Read about the urban play framework here (pdf): bit.ly/planner0921-burntoak