Cassie Smith
We can all agree that children are our future. But the ways they experience the world, and the opportunities they are provided or excluded from in childhood, shape their future in ways that are often overlooked.
This disconnect is apparent in the ways we build cities and transportation systems.
A growing moment tied to the idea of child-friendly cities is called Kidical Mass (kidsonbike.org/). Inspired by the bike protest Critical Mass, Kidical Mass events reclaim space in the city for kids. They often feature bright colours, decorations, music, and kids having one of the most fun bike rides of their lives surrounded by other children.
First held in Oregon in 2008, Kidical Mass rides have now occurred around the world. In May 2023, more than 150,000 people participated in a weekend of activities in more than 500 locations.
On September 24, Kidical Mass Ottawa will hold its first event for children and adults, as part of the next worldwide action week.
Why do children need car-free alternatives?
Car-centric cities and societies generate disastrous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that should make us all concerned about our future.
They have also created a “backseat generation.” Many kids now experience the world mostly from the backseat of a vehicle – limiting their exposure to the world, social connections, exercise, and independence.
In his book Urban Playground, researcher Tim Gill identified the independent roaming radius of four generations from the same family, each at eight years of age: great-grandfather six miles, grandfather one mile, mother ½ mile, son 300 yards. We are excluding children from experiencing the world. And when children and youth feel like they can’t travel on their own it creates more pressures on families and more car trips.
Solutions exist, so that cities consider the needs of children and families in planning and transportation.
Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are parents with two children who moved from Canada to the more child-friendly country of the Netherlands. In their book Curbing Traffic, they share the dramatic changes in their lives after the move. They suggest that limiting cars by providing bountiful cycling and walking connections, car-free and car-light streets, and low-speed limits are essential to creating a child-friendly city.
Parents can demand safer streets
Of course, the Netherlands is known for its cycling culture, but this isn’t because their cities are inherently different. Their streets were also overrun with cars until the 1970s. Part of what led to their new direction was a call to make cities safer for children.
Parents and community members banded together to demand safer streets for kids in a movement called “stop de kindermoord” which translates to “stop child murder.” This group said “enough is enough” and demanded better. The movement was a critical part of the transformation of the Netherlands from a car-dominant society to one that supports all types of transportation.
We can demand this type of action here too. While we may be decades behind the Dutch, we can benefit from what they have learned and build a city of the future that doesn’t ignore children but allows them to live their own healthy, safe, fulfilling, and independent lives.
This will mean more investments in transit, sidewalks, and mobility lanes (for bikes, scooters, and mobility devices), and taking space away from cars.
These investments produce substantial returns in lower health care, road repair, and collision costs. Like the Netherlands, many cities are establishing school streets, closing these areas to cars to make school zones safer for children. Others are converting on-street parking to active transportation routes or dedicated transit lanes.
Importantly, all of these actions to reduce automobile trips lead to fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and air and noise pollution.
They also often provide cities with more space for trees and plants.
Ottawa event open to all
The Ottawa event will take place on Sunday, September 24, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. It will include a slow bike ride on Queen Elizabeth Drive and fun activities before and after. We invite everyone to join us and help build cities that support kids and families today and for decades to come.
The event is co-hosted by Bike Ottawa (bikeottawa.ca), For Our Kids Ottawa-Gatineau (www.forourkids.ca/ottawa_gatineau), and School Streets Ottawa (schoolstreetsottawa.ca).
Registration and more information about the Ottawa event can be found at bit.ly/kidicalmassottawa or any of the host groups’ websites.