How Do Kids Experience Streets? A Reverse Periscope Companion Guide
Streets feel a lot different when you’re only 95cm tall. Like any kind of infrastructure, kids experience streets differently than adults and have unique needs when it comes to safety and access.
In 2018 we created a Streets for Kids periscope, a simple cardboard-and-mirrors device that lets adults experience a street from a child’s height. It’s designed to help adults better understand the sightlines, hazards, and uncertainties as well as the unique and surprising aspects of navigating a world built for people twice as tall as you.
We first debuted the periscopes at a “walkshop” in Los Angeles, and since then partners in Lima and Bogotá have held workshops to help improve the periscope’s design and instructions.
Buzeta ‘Caminable’ – Opening Streets for Play and Physical Activity in Cerrillos, Chile
Ciudad Emergente partnered with the Municipality of Cerrillos and the Mayor University to do a pop-up transformation of 7th Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly space, connecting an elementary school serving 350 children with a nearby park, and creating a safer and more playful space.
The Municipality of León, Mexico, partnered with the Governmental Family Services Agency (DIF) and the non-profit Colectivo Tomate to pilot an interim street transformation creating a safe, accessible, and playful path to key destinations serving nearly 1,000 children daily.
Surakarta Child-friendly and Inclusive City (SUKARIA)
In Solo, Indonesia, the non-profit Kota Kita partnered with the Surakarta City Department of Transportation to redesign two streets near a high school, benefiting more than 500 students and residents. More than 400 kids, caregivers, and community members participated. The interim transformation created a safer, more attractive, and more inclusive environment for children by reclaiming public space for pedestrians and introducing traffic-calming elements and street art.
