Children And Their Urban Environment

In our fast-changing urban world, the impacts of social and environmental change on children are often overlooked. Children and their Urban Environment examines these impacts in detail, looking at the key activities, spaces and experiences children have and how these can be managed to ensure that children benefit from change. The authors highlight the importance of planners, architects and housing professionals in creating positive environments for children and involving them in the planning process. They argue that children‘s lives are becoming simultaneously both richer and more deprived, and that, despite apparently increasing wealth, disparities between children are increasing further. Each chapter includes international examples of good practice and policy innovations for redressing the balance in favour of child supportive environments. The book seeks to embrace childhood as a time of freedom, social engagement and environmental adventure and to encourage creation of environments that better meet the needs of children. The authors argue that in doing so, we will build more sustainable neighbourhoods, cities and societies for the future.

How children experience, negotiate and connect with or resist their surroundings impacts on their health and wellbeing. In cities, various aspects of the physical and social environment can affect children’s wellbeing. This edited collection brings together different accounts and experiences of children’s health and wellbeing in urban environments from majority and minority world perspectives. Privileging children’s expertise, this timely volume explicitly explores the relationships between health, wellbeing and place. To demonstrate the importance of a place-based understanding of urban children’s health and wellbeing, the authors unpack the meanings of the physical, social and symbolic environments that constrain or enable children’s flourishing in urban environments. Drawing on the expertise of geographers, educationists, anthropologists, psychologists, planners and public health researchers, as well as nurses and social workers, this book, above all, sees children as the experts on their experiences of the issues that affect their wellbeing. Children’s Health and Wellbeing in Urban Environments will be fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in cultural geography, urban geography, environmental geography, children’s health, youth studies or urban planning.

This updated and expanded third edition examines the significant changes impacting children in our society and is a significant revision of the second edition, presented 10 years previous. During that period, there have been many important “firsts” in the United States: the first African-American president; the first attempt at a health care system that includes everyone; the first time for gay marriage sanctioned by the federal government; numerous firsts in medical care; a growing globalization; and the ongoing technology revolution changing lives from day to day. At the same time, however, there have been reactionary pulls that have halted progress in many critical areas such as income inequality, racism, poverty, violence, terrorist acts, and critical flaws in the educational and criminal justice systems that continue to have disastrous consequences for children. The chapters in the book discuss the cost in human terms of some of the missing opportunities for urban children and youth and illustrate the impact of social welfare policies on children, their families, and on the broader society. To better prepare social workers to meet some of the pressing needs to children, three completely new chapters have been added to this edition: “Beyond School and Community Violence: Providing Environments Where Children Thrive”; “Urban Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Children”; and “Substance Use by Urban Children.” In addition to sections on “Economic, Social, and Environmental Factors Impacting on Urban Children,” and “Familial Factors Impacting on Urban Children,” a new section, “Behavioral and Physical Health and Urban Children,” has been introduced. This new edition provides a significant resource for students and professionals in social work, family counseling, human services, psychology, and criminal justice. Most importantly, the various chapters in this text will help social workers and social work students recognize the nature of some of the current problems affecting children and come up with innovative solutions for the future.

The heart of this book is the translation of The Life Space of the Urban Child, written in 1935 by Martha and Hans Heinrich Muchow. Life Space provides a fresh look at children as actors and how they absorb their city environments. It uses an empirical base connected with theories about the worlds in which children live. The first section provides historical background on Muchow’s study and the author. The second section presents the translation of the Life Space study, as well as comments from an environmental psychologist’s perspective. The third section reviews the study’s theoretical foundations, including the concept of “critical personalism,” the perspectives of phenomenology, and the notion of Umwelt (environment). The last section addresses various lines of research developed from the Life Space study, including Muchow’s work in describing children in urban environments, methodological approaches, and the significance of space in social science and educational contexts. The manner in which Martha Muchow conducted her studies is itself of note. She obtained access to the children in their environments and combined observation with cartographies and essays produced by the children. This approach was new at the time and continues to inspire researchers today. This volume is the latest work in Transaction’s History and Theory of Psychology series.

Rapid changes in urban life are continually reshaping the physical and social environment of the city. This book represents the thinking of a number of leading experts on a variety of topics related to the impact of contemporary urban life on children. Between the introduction which provides a framework for a contextual analysis and a conclusion which draws together the major ideas, each chapter presents a major statement on a particular area of concern, followed by commentaries and discussion. The topics range from the historical context of policies regarding urban children and an international perspective on children's services to detailed studies of health, daycare and its effects on young children, legal issues, and the problem of delinquency and social control. Another chapter deals with the broad pattern of social change and its consequences for children. Several chapters focus on physical aspects of the urban environment; the overall ecological perspective, local neighbourhoods, and housing. The book as a whole identifies the fundamentals of a broad issue of concern and examines their implications for policy, practice, and understanding.

Urban authorities and organizations are responsible for providing the basic services that affect the lives of urban children. Cities for Children is intended to help them understand and respond to the rights and requirements of children and adolescents. It looks at the responsibilities that authorities face, and discusses practical measures for meeting their obligations in the context of limited resources and multiple demands. While the book emphasizes the challenges faced by local government, it also contains information that would be useful to any groups working to make urban areas better places for children. Cities for Children begins by introducing the concept, history and content of children's rights and the obligations they create for local authorities. The volume then goes on to look at a variety of contentious issues such as housing, community participation, working children, community health, education and juvenile justice. The final section of the book discusses the challenge of establishing systems of governance that can promote the economic security, social justice and environmental care essential for the realization of children's rights. It follows through the practical implications for the structure, policies and practices of local authorities. Written by the top experts in the field of children's issues, and including a resource section which lists publications and organizations that can provide further information and support, this volume is a must for all involved in planning for, and the protection of, children within the urban environment.