Tim Gill and Ankita Chachra Discuss How and Why Cities of the Future Can Work Better for Children

by Mark Swartz

Early Learning Nation

August 3, 2023

Photo courtesy Global Designing Cities Initiative

Part 5 of “Seasons of Play” Series

Tim Gill’s book Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Planning and Design Can Save Cities is a timely and engaging manifesto, full of maps and charts, pointing to future cities where play happens in streets, squares and green spaces, not just playgrounds. Further, he celebrates public spaces that “nurture contact between families in different social groups.”

Ankita Chachra, senior fellow at Capita, recently posted an essay, “Connecting Cities, Young Children and Climate Action,” describing how her dual journeys as an urban planner and a new mother reinforce each other: “With an urgent, selfish and personal interest in securing a safe future for my child and his future friends, I decided to commit myself to climate action at the intersection of early years and the built environment.”

Early Learning Nation magazine spoke to Gill and Chachra about the potential they see for playful cities.