Mobility is child's play
Mobility and the interpretation of public space is still far too often, far too rarely, viewed from the perspective of children. Yet children are an excellent touchstone for our mobility system. After all, child-friendly mobility is good for everyone.
Yes, our children are dear to us. But mostly because we see in them the future generation of adults. Children are adults-to-be. Immature, vulnerable and not yet able to participate in adult society. Because they are so precious and vulnerable, we need to protect them. And because they don't quite fit into adult society yet, we have to teach them adult norms and values and control them. That control marginalises them as a social category.
In the world of planners, designers, managers and administrators, children are clearly not at the table. Where is the voice of the children who know better than anyone where things are lacking and therefore where solutions are possible?
Applying the child standard
Entirely in line with the idea that they are not yet full citizens, children are given a separate and isolated place in society. The facilities we create for them, such as school or playgrounds or hobbies, should prepare them for later life in a protected and guarded environment.
Today, children get a bit of something resembling participation at carefully chosen times. A good example is Children's Rights Day in parliament. But with those sporadic moments when adults, in all their compassion, are equally willing to change their perspective, very little is going to come back from the autonomy that the same adults have taken away from them bit by bit. Yet back in 2010, the Family Federation laid the groundwork for a child standard in our traffic. Such a child standard means that traffic policy takes into account the possibilities and limitations of children and young people. And that we take into account the learning process children go through on their way to independence and autonomy. Since 2025, Mobiel 21 has initiated a Coalition for the Child Standard to make child-friendly mobility and public space the standard.
In the book 'Wandering with a purpose: Choosing locally for child-friendliness', we wrote the chapter on child-friendly mobility with Mobiel 21. And how municipalities can use smart planning to develop active mobility and public transport to really work on autonomous mobility for children and young people. Because autonomy, and nothing else, should become the touchstone for mobility decisions. In the book, dozens more specialists share their insights and proposals for a child-friendly living environment. It should be compulsory literature for anyone working on future-proof policies. In that respect, the 'Label child-friendly cities and towns' for local governments is certainly a step in the right direction.
Autonomy for children is the foundation
Loslopend Kind, an initiative of Child & Society, is also putting the spotlight on children's autonomy. With a dedicated website full of inspiration and best practices, they take a closer look at the three main basic principles of child-friendly autonomous mobility: safety, clarity and perception. These may seem logical themes, but when, at a consultation moment, you hear a concerned mother loudly proclaim that a 30-km zone or a bicycle street in a residential area is a very drastic measure after all, you know there is still work to be done. At the same time, our youth are not lacking in acumen. This is evident when, in a street interview on Leuven's Bondgenotenlaan, a 10-year-old decisively launches his proposal into your microphone to allow pedestrians and cars to swap places. The ideas are there, in abundance, now all we need are the adults who have ears for them and believe in them.
Giving children confidence
Giving children confidence ... We already don't find it easy, and it becomes even more difficult when we talk about children with special needs. Yet here again, autonomy is key. It is easy to condemn with stern words the abuses of bus services for special education students. It is a different matter to actually fundamentally change it. And then you cannot do without the perspective of the children and young people, their parents and supervisors.
With Mobiel 21, we are working on solutions in 3 pilot regions (Leuven, Roeselare and Antwerp). With mobility coaches, involving, informing and convincing parents. We mainly try to get the strong pupils, for whom other options are available, off the buses. That way, journeys become shorter for pupils who cannot do without bus transport.
A report by the Children's Commissioner nicely shows the impact of this approach. It is not a simple story, but by focusing on central pick-up points, inclusive childcare and mobility coaches, we do make a difference. And again, autonomy or self-reliance is the big target. Or as they put it at the Antwerp Rocket network: "All children deserve the right support to get to school, but the way we do it should not be an easy fix for the administration, in which the children are objects of suffering and subject to the law of efficiency. That transport gives us just the perfect opportunity to help those extraordinary pupils grow and become more self-reliant. That increased self-reliance is an individual story, different for each child." So a warm call to our policymakers to stop the bidding for big and bigger promises and extend the solutions that have already proven to work today to the whole country.
Talking along with 'the big people'
Great people quite often boast of making important decisions based on objective figures and findings. Whether that is true we will leave aside here for the record. What is true is that objective data can help people stop making decisions based on gut feeling. Or to stop giving the loudest shouts their all. Abacus data are an ideal basis for mapping local traffic situations and then having an adult discussion about how things can be done better and more child-friendly. This is why we are also very enthusiastic about School on the Counter. It gives pupils the chance, with their own Tally data in hand, to take a critical look at mobility around school and in their neighbourhood.
And so we give children the same tools as adults to engage in the healthy mobility debate. Moreover, this nicely integrates traffic education with awareness and mobility management for and by children.
Simple is not the same as simple
Now if we looked at it all through the eyes of a child? How much friendlier, safer and more liveable would our cities and towns become then? If we are honest, mobility is actually childishly simple. Adults do need to stop dismissing a child's point of view as too simple, worthless or childish. And then the question arises whether we adults are ready to consider children as mobility experts of the purest calibre. If we dare to look through the eyes of children and invite them to the drawing board, we will come up with ideas that will make life safer and more pleasant for everyone on the road. And anyone who is afraid they just want more playgrounds is sorely mistaken. Because they too are a figment of adults' imagination to put children under a glass bell jar and keep them away from the life-threatening traffic situations created by the big people themselves.
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