Over the last few decades, cities have undergone profound and rapid transformations, which have also significantly impacted childhood. While cities grow larger and increasingly complex, the child population is facing a stark decline in urban quality of life. Children have lost their spaces in the city and are increasingly confined to enclosed, institutionalized environments.
The perception of the city as dangerous has grown stronger, establishing a self-reinforcing cycle: with fewer children on the streets, these spaces are dominated by speeding cars, which hinders public use of space, in turn fostering violence and further driving children—and everyone else—away from the streets. The rarity of children playing on streets and in other public areas of urban centers also makes this demographic largely invisible to adults and policymakers.
