Successful places with homes and jobs A NATIONAL AGENCY WORKING LOCALLY Street Design and Play November 2015 Helen Forman Design Manager Homes and Communities Agency

The decline of street play and range  Only 25% of English primary school children were allowed to travel home from school alone in 2010 compared with 86% in 1971 (Policy Studies Institute, 2013)  Up until the 1970s, street play was common. 71% of adults played out in the street or neighbourhood as children, compared to only 21% of children today (Play England poll, 2007)  Car use in the UK has doubled in the last 50 years (1963 – 17m cars in UK, 2013 – 35m cars in UK - RAC)

The crisis in child physical fitness  Children need one hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day (Chief Medical Officer’s guideline)  28% of boys and only 15% of girls aged 11–15 years in England are achieving this (Health Behaviours of School-aged Children study, 2010)  1 in 10 English children are obese when they begin primary school, 1 in 5 when they start secondary school (Health & Social Care Information Centre report, 2013)

Policy Studies Institute, 2015

The benefits of outdoor play  Greater level of physical activity among children  Child-led free play  Higher levels of sociability and improved mental wellbeing  Increased community cohesion  Intrinsic value of children’s play and independence - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) Article 31

Places that are good for children are good for everyone  “Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people” - Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogotá, Columbia  Adult social behaviour in outdoor space follows similar patterns to children’s – Jan Gehl Gehl – Life Between Buildings

Jan Gehl – Life Between Buildings  Necessary activities – e.g. going to school, work, shopping  Optional activities – e.g. taking a stroll, ‘people-watching’  Social activities – e.g. children playing, conversations, passive contact  Scale, noise, speed of movement, landscaping and the ‘transitional zone’ between indoors and outdoors are crucial

How do children play outdoors?

How do children play outdoors? 1.Proximity to the home 2.Social contact 3.Accessibility of key destinations 4.The range of play opportunities 5.Traffic

1969 – Donald Appleyard ‘Livable Streets’

Designing streets for play 1.Home Zones 2.Cul de Sacs 3.Footpath networks and safe loops

Home Zones  First Woonerven (‘Living Streets’) created in the Netherlands in 1970s Pedestrians may use the full width of the highway within an area defined as a woonerf; playing on the roadway is also permitted. Drivers within a woonerf may not drive faster than at a walking pace. They must make allowance for the possible presence of pedestrians, including children at play, unmarked objects and irregularities in the road surface, and the alignment of the roadway.”

Home Zones  Limit vehicle speeds to well below 20mph  Improve the quality of life in residential roads by making them places for pedestrians  Make drivers feel that the car is a guest in the street  Encourage socialisation and community

The first UK Home Zones  1999 – First nine pilot Home Zones, including The Methleys, Leeds, Northmoor, Manchester and Morice Town, Plymouth  Community involved in design and development  2001 Home Zones Challenge - £30m fund – 61 successful schemes

New Build Home Zones Broadclose, Bude Gunwharf, Plymouth Limetree Square, Street

Biddulph, 2011

Cul de Sacs  Wheway observed high level of play  Residents feel they are safer for play BUT  Current urban design discourages them  Secured by Design warns against them

Footpath networks and safe ‘loops’ ’ Wheway and Millward, 1997

Footpath networks and safe ‘loops’ “What is important for children is to be able to move freely around their physical and social environment and have a variety of inter-actions and different locations” Biddulph, 2011

Footpath networks and safe ‘loops’

How we build now

Barriers to designing for play  Cost  Lack of end-user demand  Parking  Local Highways Authorities  Limited guidance on designing for children’s independent mobility

What needs to be done?  Build the evidence base  Focus on new build  Explore the barriers to Local Highways Authorities  Develop guidance and training  Explore the commercial benefits of designing for play

Case Study: Rotterdam Four Building Blocks for a Child Friendly City:  Child Friendly Housing – min. floor areas, private external space  Public Space - recommended sports and play area provision  Facilities – shops, schools, green play areas with climbing trees  Safe traffic routes – traffic speed reduction, safe crossing points, wide pavements for play