Press Releases September 9, 2019

Streets for Kids City Awards

GDCI Announces City Awards for Streets for Kids Program

Twelve cities announced for technical assistance and trainings

The Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) today announced 12 global cities to receive training to design child-friendly streets as part of its Streets for Kids program. The program also includes a forthcoming publication, Designing Streets for Kids, a first-in-class design guide for transforming streets with new standards and design considerations drawn from real-life redesigns in hundreds of cities worldwide.

“If you design a street that works for kids, you’ve designed a street that works for everyone,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, NACTO Chair and Principal with Bloomberg Associates. “Putting everyone in the street on equal footing is how cities can lead by design and achieve higher standards of urban care.”

GDCI announced that four cities on three continents will be the first to receive technical assistance and hands-on training for designing child-friendly streets, including matching funds to support the implementation of street redesign projects.

Eight additional cities on five continents were selected for GDCI trainings, where staff will hold intensive technical workshop sessions to advance child-focused street design. 

The 12 winning cities were selected from a competitive pool of nearly 100 applications from across the globe.

 

Streets for Kids is a multi-year program to develop new technical guidance and advance street designs that create safe public spaces for children of all ages and abilities to learn, play, and move around a city. Designing Streets for Kids will be published in early 2020. This program is generously funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, FiA Foundation, Fondation Botnar, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

More Updates

Designing Safe and Resilient Streets in Recife

June 30, 2025

Designing Safe and Resilient Streets in Recife

In October 2024, the Streets for Kids project was inaugurated in the Jordão neighborhood in Recife, Brazil, a community where children faced multiple challenges accessing safe and high-quality public spaces. Heavy rains, frequent flooding, and landslide risks often made their journey to school dangerous and unpredictable. Throughout the process, children, caregivers, school staff, and residents were engaged to co-create solutions that improve access to schools, supporte outdoor play and social connection, and set a precedent for future child-focused street transformations in Recife.

Creating Safer Spaces for Play: Tackling Air Pollution in Accra

June 11, 2025

Creating Safer Spaces for Play: Tackling Air Pollution in Accra

In collaboration with the Korle Klottey Municipality and with support from the Clean Air Fund, GDCI launched the Removing Pollution from Play project in late 2023, with the aim to tackle air pollution in school environments by implementing practical solutions, raising awareness, and empowering communities to advocate for cleaner air. In March 2025, the completed intervention was inaugurated, and the new safe play space now serves over 150 students in Accra.

The GDCI Reverse Periscope

April 8, 2025

The GDCI Reverse Periscope

Since its launch in 2023, cities around the world have embraced the reverse periscope as a playful tool to reimagine streets from a child’s perspective. From community walkshops to international conferences, the tool is helping spark deeper conversations about child-friendly design. Discover how practitioners are using it to shift perspectives—and shape safer, more joyful streets for kids.