Focus of work
The Government aims to build 1.5 million new homes, yet the voices of children, young people and families are absent from planning policy and delivery. Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (WWCT) and Quality of Life Foundation (QOLF) will bring children and developers into direct dialogue to explore how new developments can enable children and young people to travel sustainably, actively and independently.
Through workshops and interviews at three pioneering UK developments, this project will capture evidence, case studies and stories to inspire a national conversation about how places and policies can take children and young people’s experience of transport into account.
Impact
We want to see authorities, new towns and developers compete to be the best place to grow up. Neighbourhoods where children can walk, wheel and cycle safely. Where everyday destinations are connected by direct, green routes. And where public transport is integrated, accessible and reliable. So that children can enjoy safe, independent and sustainable travel.
For the first time, this project will give children and young people a voice in how new housing
developments across the UK are designed and built, inspiring shifts in policy and practice. Engaging government, local decision-makers, major and innovative UK housebuilders, and national association groups, the project aims to influence how street networks, transport links and movement frameworks are planned from the outset. This structural shift – putting children’s mobility needs at the heart of the process – has the potential to redefine development norms nationwide, benefitting families and developers for decades to come.