Barbara Lambourn: Children crucial part of city

Children and young people are at the heart of Auckland's future. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Opinion

Auckland will reap benefits if planning can be child-friendly, writes Barbara Lambourn, national advocacy manager for Unicef NZ, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The Super City is home to a third of the country's children. That's more than 300,000 kids from diverse ethnic, cultural, socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

This number is expected to grow as part of the global trend from rural to urban living. In fact, Auckland's overall population is expected to be two million by 2031.

This clearly brings challenges and opportunities as demonstrated in Auckland Unleashed, the council's discussion document for a 30-year plan for the city.

Encouragingly, it puts children and young people at the heart of Auckland's future - strategic priority number one.

Perhaps the city's mayor and councillors were inspired by the move in many European and Asian cities towards creating child-friendly cities. These cities actively consider children and engage them in many aspects of civic life.

Underpinning the child-friendly city approach is the reality that our adult lives are shaped by early experiences. There is strong evidence from neuroscience that the opportunities we have and the understandings we form in childhood help define our life chances.

Local authorities are on the frontline in matters affecting children. They are the ones that can channel Auckland's growth in the right way by focusing on our citizens of tomorrow.

Our kids' present and future are defined by where and how they live. And where they learn; where they grow and play and how they get around the city.

Then there is how they perceive their surroundings, how they see their community and civic leaders and what they make of decisions made by adults on their behalf.

Auckland is the country's fastest-growing, most multicultural and economically advantaged city. But extremes of rich and poor reflect the increasingly disparate opportunities available.

A recent report from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that despite the good general situation of most New Zealand children, there are serious concerns about the the inequality of access to services, particularly for the most vulnerable.

A child-friendly approach to city governance and planning can address disparities. Over years it can disperse the growing legion of young people who feel dissatisfied with their lot in life and have no interest in supporting an establishment that they feel has ignored their needs.

A child-friendly city can genuinely reflect the commitment of a city to "unleash" energy to enable children and young people to contribute to its progress.

In such a city children are encouraged and supported to take an active interest in civic life. They develop an understanding of how and why decisions are made, build more respectful intergenerational relationships and are likely to have an ownership stake in various civic developments.

They are more likely to become informed participants in democracy when they can vote. The worldwide programme of child-friendly cities has not been fully evaluated yet. But there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that the approach helps engender a sense of belonging.

Young people are diverted from criminal or antisocial behaviour which means a safer city for all and more respect across the generations for the needs and rights of all groups sharing the city's spaces and resources.

There's universal affirmation of the principle that what is good for children and young people benefits other citizens.

Auckland Unleashed is a welcome approach to building a city that people want to visit, to live in and to raise the next generation of Aucklanders.

The most vital element of a child-friendly city is not simply doing things for children, but doing things with children as active decision-makers. So it's important that children have their say about Auckland Unleashed.

Parents, teachers and citizens can encourage and support all the children of Auckland to make their voices heard.

Let's face it, when children speak with passion and pride about how much they love their city it's the public relations programme that no highly paid corporate enterprise can hope to match.

So let's tell the mayor how Auckland can be made more child-friendly and how we can make it a city that young people are proud to live in.

Citizens of Auckland for generations to come will thank you.

Comments on Auckland Unleashed must be lodged by 4pm on May 31: www.theaucklandplan.govt.nz