Tonuccio or when educators talk about cities

Cities are a collective, cultural, and social construction inspiring thought among a diverse range of disciplines throughout history. After the Second World War, authors such as Lewis Mumford,¹ photographers such as Nigel Henderson,² professors such as Olga Adams³ and leading architects such as Aldo Van Eyck dealt with an issue that had been hardly ever considered until then: children in urban environments. Years later, in 1978, Colin Ward penned one of the most important texts on the matter, The Child in the City, where he investigated the use that children make of urban space and how cities can improve or worsen the children’s living conditions. When educator and professor Francesco Tonucci published his book La ciudad de los niños (The city of children) in 1996, however, something had changed. Children could no longer go out into the streets by themselves. For the first time in human childhood, the primacy of free play, the freedom of unsupervised enjoyment, was lost and it fell upon pedagogy to assess the consequences on their development.⁴

Twenty years have now gone by. Nevertheless, the book’s urban analysis remains valid: specialisation and compartmentalisation lead to marginalising “vulnerable” citizens (the elderly, the disabled, children…) from urban life. Urban centres are becoming increasingly emptier and more gentrified. There is a lack of security, automobiles prevail over pedestrians, and public space is perceived as commodity. As a matter of fact, most of these issues are discussed in Lefaivre’s Right to the city. Human beings have specific needs that are not met by commercial and cultural establishments, and that urban planners do not particularly take into consideration. We are referring to the need to create, to work,[…] to imagine and to play. […] Would these not be some specific urban requirements for places that are well thought-out, places of simultaneity and encounter, places where exchange would replace currency value, trade and profit?⁵

As a means to improve our cities, Tonucci proposed that we take children into consideration when making decisions and drafting proposals regarding urban areas. This would give rise to an independent outlook on public space, thus ensuring that economic factors do not prevail over other values. Tonucci also believes it appropriate to set childhood as the new urban yardstick, because “a city that is suitable for children is suitable for everyone”.

The suggestion he put forward in his book is eminently practical, and it became remarkably popular in Italy, Spain and Latin America, particularly in Argentina.⁶ Tonucci observed that it would be more easily applicable in small cities of up to 150,000 inhabitants.⁷ In Spain, Pontevedra (82,549 inhabitants) spearheaded this project. Its success is largely linked to how decisively and boldly one of the most complex aspects of the proposal was tackled. An urban mobility plan had streets’ social and recreational function take precedence over traffic. Strategies such as traffic calming or disappearing traffic and studies such as Livable Streets⁸ were the main drivers of the decisions made. Traffic was reduced as much as possible by constraining the circulation of vehicles. Speed was capped at 30km/h by means of urban design. Parking was time-regulated. Pavements were expanded. And finally, several streets and squares were reclaimed for pedestrians and made fully accessible.⁹ Thanks to this friendly environment, children have now taken against to the streets and are able to play in the city squares and go to school unaccompanied. A Children’s Council was established for them to make suggestions and to channel their opinions on their city. This ensures that their voice is heard. Once their day is over, however, they go back home and enjoy a right that should never be lost, the ability to play freely.¹⁰