Keeping young families in the centre: a pathways approach to child-friendly urban design

This paper outlines the importance of pathway design in creating ‘child-friendly’ cities. There is concern that central parts of major cities have excluded households with children through the process of youthification. The importance of parks in creating child-friendly neighbourhoods is widely accepted, but the quality of the pathways connecting parks to residential areas has received less attention. This study develops a design assessment approach and compares the quality of pathways in youthified and family-oriented neighbourhoods in Portland, Oregon. A stronger focus on informal play opportunities along pathways and a systematic design assessment is recommended to advance child-friendly planning.