“Critical Agents of Change?”: Opportunities and Limits to Children’s Participation in Urban Planning

Abstract

Children’s participation in urban planning impacts communities. A policy environment supports their participation, yet this is far from mainstream, particularly in areas of greatest vulnerability. This literature review demonstrates what we do and don’t know about barriers and enablers to children’s participation in urban planning. We identify key themes within participatory methods, processes, and structures that influence urban planning stages and methods and identify the consequences of children’s inclusion or exclusion. We then argue for a research agenda that examines institutional impacts on urban planning and decisions that include or exclude children to contribute to a transformation of on-ground practices.

Rebels in their own job: How digging into a municipal mystery turned invited youth participation in an urban planning process into uninvited activism

“…Here we build on a definition of participation in urban planning as both the right and the opportunity to participate in and influence decision-making processes (Bygdås & Hagen, 2022). Despite the progress made in many countries in focusing on youth in laws and regulations through newly established arenas for participation, young people still occupy too few positions to make an actual impact (Bessant, 2004), also in urban change processes (Mansfield et al, 2021). There is a lack of knowledge on how youth can be included in decision-making and participation spaces in urban planning (Crowley & Moxon, 2017).…”

“…To better understand the complex positions young people acquire when they step outside of the assigned roles by adult actors, we draw on the three dimensions of power discussed by Steven Lukes (1974Lukes ( /2005): decision-making power, agenda power and thought control. In a recent literature review on children's participation in urban planning, Mansfield et al (2021) find that there is a total lack of literature on children or young people driving urban planning agendas and processes, what Lukes (1974Lukes ( /2005) calls agenda power, the capacity to set the agenda. Also, the barriers and enablers that children themselves identify, such as processes being boring, tiring, or restrictive, are discussed in the context of taking pre-cautionary measures in future participation processes-not as incentives to allow children to design and determine processes of participation (Mansfield et al, 2021).…”

“…In a recent literature review on children's participation in urban planning, Mansfield et al (2021) find that there is a total lack of literature on children or young people driving urban planning agendas and processes, what Lukes (1974Lukes ( /2005) calls agenda power, the capacity to set the agenda. Also, the barriers and enablers that children themselves identify, such as processes being boring, tiring, or restrictive, are discussed in the context of taking pre-cautionary measures in future participation processes-not as incentives to allow children to design and determine processes of participation (Mansfield et al, 2021). Following Lukes' (1974Lukes' ( /2005 terminology, this latter position can be defined as youth holding decision-making power in a planning process.…”

Children's Green Infrastructure: Children and Their Rights to Nature and the City

“…However, in general, children have seldom been called to participate in the processes of urban planning and design (Bishop and Corkery, 2017 ). This, in spite of the above mentioned UNICEF programs as well as evidence from the new sociology of childhood/children's studies that have shown how children are capable of a critical understanding of place and of making good and realistic contributions to urban planning and policy (Cele and van der Burgt, 2015 ; Jansson et al, 2016 ; Ataol et al, 2019 ; Hanssen, 2019 ; Mansfield et al, 2021 ).…”

“…It is widely acknowledged that urban spaces face socio-environmental inequities, affecting the most vulnerable groups (Hoffimann et al, 2017 ; Vidal et al, 2021a ). Children, as a social category of generational type, are also exposed to a variety of social, economic and environmental risks, limiting their opportunities for agency and development (Mansfield et al, 2021 ). Although on average, urban children enjoy better access to essential services as well as to cultural, educational and other opportunities for development, this “urban advantage” masks enormous disparities and inequities among urban residents (UNICEF, 2018 ).…”