Housing ministry launches challenge to make public spaces in cities children-friendly

With the Covid-19 pandemic having underscored the importance of public spaces, mobility and access to services, the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA)

With the Covid-19 pandemic having underscored the importance of public spaces, mobility and access to services, the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has kickstarted a pan-India challenge for making city spaces more children-friendly, especially for the age group of 0-5 years.

Through the “Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge” launched on Wednesday, cities are invited to reimagine parks, gardens, and open spaces for play and interaction; make streets safer for young children; improve access to early childhood services such as Anganwadis and public health centres; and adapt public spaces with early childhood amenities.

Cities with a population of over five lakh can propose pilot neighbourhood-level interventions to improve city spaces for children and their care-givers. Based on the proposals, around 20 cities will be provided technical assistance to implement the pilot and 10 winning entries will receive further technical support and capacity-building support for over two years.

Durga Shankar Mishra, secretary, MoHUA, said: “For a city to be responsive to all citizens, it needs to consciously address the needs of the most vulnerable groups. Incorporating an early childhood lens in city planning will support more holistic, people-oriented urban development.”

MoHUA launched the challenge in collaboration with Netherlands-based Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and with the technical support from World Resources Institute (WRI), India.

Dr OP Agarwal, chief executive officer, WRI, said, “We need to reimagine our cities as places where children can grow in a safe, nurturing and inspirational environment. This would require going back to basic principles of pedestrian-oriented cities by rebuilding streets, public spaces, public transport, access to facilities and utility services, and urban resilience.”