Children are characterized by their beautiful and innocent dreams, and I am inviting the reader to explore one of their highly significant dreams, which is to participate in constructing their diverse cities and buildings to create a relationship of love and belonging with every spot of their dearest homeland.
Children are characterized by their beautiful and innocent dreams, and I am inviting the reader to explore one of their highly significant dreams, which is to participate in constructing their diverse cities and buildings to create a relationship of love and belonging with every spot of their dearest homeland.
Many people may be surprised that the scientific definition of the child, according to the UN definition includes the age group (0-18). And our surprise continues when the child loses its importance in the Arab societies, despite being the most numerous category because of its high growth rates.
Children in the Arab world make up an average percentage of approximately 60% of the total population, a part that cannot be underestimated at all as a component of society. Here the question arises: Why do cities in the Arab world plan without paying attention to the needs and requirements of the children? Why force them to adhere to planning standards planned for adults? And most importantly, how can cities become child-friendly?
Arab children suffer from so-called urbanization diseases. The danger of neglecting a child's place in the city is not merely related to children's sensitivity and vulnerability to diseases and environmental hazards. But also threatens the children's and the country's future. Scenes surrounding us in the Arab world show that the modern child has become a prisoner of screens: television, computers, cinema, mobile, and video games, and their relationship with fresh air, landscaped spaces, natural light, and greenery has decreased. Additionally, obesity rates have reached unprecedented rates. For example, an emerging Gulf country such as Kuwait has the highest rate of childhood obesity in the world.
Levels of handling with the child and its relationship to urban planning and architecture
Childcare and distribution
The imperative to provide the services that the child needs, such as schools, kindergartens, cultural centers, gyms, libraries, children's theaters, museums, gardens, parks, children's hospitals, health centers, childcare institutions, and others, in addition to the services associated with the city and its buildings, such as children's departments in major hospitals and children's research departments in studies centers and universities. These services have standards that often differ from adult services, the extremely important of which is their distance from surrounding neighborhoods.
The movement of the child in the city
All services offered to the child in the city must be within a safe transport network, where the child doesn't have to use certain transport but can be reached within safe walkways away from traffic. Who has priority in our cities, pedestrians and especially children? Or the car? Is it possible for children to interact safely and independently with the city without depending on adults, and to what extent does the city support or hinder the presence of children in its spaces, streets, and squares?
The child's use of the city spaces
The imperative of the actual presence of the child in the overall urban fabric of the city, and in the general shape of the city’s components and buildings, as well as in the small and large details of all facilities in the city where the child is expected to be one of the users. But this level requires a thorough study of all parts of the city and an attempt to normalize it in a way that is appropriate and consistent with the child's physical and mental abilities. This includes overhauling the design of the traffic and transportation network to be safe and comfortable for the child, controlling noise and lighting levels, using appropriate transportation, finding hiking and biking trails, and arranging spaces. It also requires a survey of the buildings, their functions, their distribution, and the distances between them. Additionally, it involves an examination of the city's open spaces, their possible uses, and the extent to which they can be used by the child.
Children's Participation in the Planning Process of cities
Children have amazed many planning and development professionals with their creative and mature perspectives when they are given the opportunity to actively participate in the design and planning of their communities and cities. Some of the experts admitted these ideas presented by children are impossible to propose by adults with their limited vision in relation to reality, unlike children who fly in the realms of imagination and creativity. UNICEF issued an alert titled " 'Cities are failing children," warning of the need to re-orient the planning and urbanization process to meet the needs of 21- century Children and the importance of integrating the child as a major partner in the planning process of contemporary cities and articulating the child's role in planning the future of the city is his participation in planning and design decisions and the consideration of his perspective as a fundamental user of and belonging to the city.
Through certain means, studies, and research for children and realistic contemporary statistics for planning, it is possible to know the child's realistic visions and their real desires and ambitions for their city. Recently, new research and examining methods of the views of children have been developed, which can be included in preliminary studies before design and planning begins. One of these methods is so-called "Cognitive mapping," which requires observing the child and knowing the points of his movement around the city without affecting him. Another method used is "walking with children in the city," in which the researcher and analyst accompany the child on certain paths, observing all his actions and behaviors in a bid to understand how he relates to the city, its contents, and spaces and which one is most important to the child.
The transformation of Arab cities into child-friendly cities must be a strategic development goal. Enabling children to interact positively with their cities not only enhances their physical, mental, and emotional abilities, but also helps create a strong and genuine sense of belonging and loyalty to their country. This feeling is much needed by our new generations living in a post-globalization world and in a pluralistic, open, and welcoming society.