Publications

This paper finds that rural-urban migrant households have fewer assets, live in worse housing conditions and in areas less well served by public schools, have fewer social connections in the area where they live, and contain adults with lower educational levels than for urban native households. Even conditional on these household characteristics, educational expenditure and grade attainment were both lower for children from migrant households than urban natives. The findings are consistent with migrant children’s education being impeded by bureaucratic obstacles such as the household registration system in Vietnam.

Children living in urban slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh, often have poor access to school and attend different types of school than students from middle class households. This paper asks whether their experiences in school also disadvantage them further in terms of their learning outcomes and the likelihood of dropping out. It is based on interviews with 36 students aged 11-16 from both slum and middle-class backgrounds, in 2012. The paper discusses how these experiences in school are likely to heighten the risk of dropping out for slum students, analyses the results in terms of de-facto privatization and school accountability, and recommends better regulation of private tuition, and teaching styles that are less obsessed with examination results.

The study analyses how the Philippines’ national Child Friendly Movement, which has engaged government, NGOs, civil society, children and UNICEF, has enhanced the capacity of local governments, communities and young people to fulfil the rights of the poorest children. The study uses participatory methodologies and reflects the viewpoint of children and the community. It reveals that in areas where the Child Friendly Cities strategy was adopted, greater attention is paid to the most excluded and vulnerable groups and interventions are developed on a wider spectrum of children’s rights. Beyond providing insights on concrete ways in which child rights are bring promoted at local level, it provides recommendations on how the fulfilment of child rights can be further enhanced by municipal governments.

Child Friendly Cities in Italy describes the evolution of childhood in Italy and the emergence of a new culture of the city. It analyses the consideration given to the Child Friendly Cities initiative and in particular the attention provided to the child as an active citizen and the role of the city in promoting the participation of young people in decision-making processes at the local level. The study looks at the specific experience of 12 of the more than 100 Italian cities that have adopted this approach, considering planning, budgeting and monitoring plans of action for children and ways through which children’s views are taken into account. The study provides recommendations on how to further promote children’s rights within local governance.

La presente ricerca si prefigge di documentare i processi che hanno condotto alla realizzazione di città amiche dei bambini in Italia, tanto a livello nazionale, quanto a quello locale, analizzandone le tendenze, le metodologie, le strategie, con lo scopo di identificare le lezioni e di evidenziare le buone pratiche. La ricerca si sofferma su alcuni temi principali. Innanzitutto, sono state analizzate le idee guida, gli obiettivi e i destinatari degli interventi, le visioni complessive che sono alla base degli interventi. In secondo luogo, sono state descritte le iniziative innovative sperimentate dal programma italiano, con riferimento alle attività ed ai metodi e alle tecniche.

Las ciudades del mundo a menudo son consideradas como centros privilegiados y de riqueza pero también acogen a cientos de millones de niños para quienes la pobreza y la exclusión son una realidad cotidiana. Algunos de estos niños viven en la calle; muchos más viven en casas peligrosas e insana que a veces carecen de las necesidades más básicas, como el agua potable y el saneamiento. Estos niños urbanos raras veces tienen acceso a servicios adecuados como alfabetización o espacios seguros para jugar. El imperativo de la supervivencia económica puede suponer no sólo que los padres sean incapaces de dedicar tiempo suficiente para el cuidado de los niños, sino que también los niños se vean obligados a tabajar, a menudo en condiciones peligrosas. Esto no debería ser así: este Digest examina el potencial del buen gobierno urbano fundado en los principios de uno derechos humanos que promuevan un cambio positivo para y con la infancia.

This document provides a framework for defining and developing a Child Friendly City. It identifies the steps to build a local system of governance committed to fulfilling children’s rights. The framework translates the process needed to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by national governments into a local government process. The concept of Child Friendly Cities is equally applicable to governance of all communities which include children, large and small, urban and rural. The framework is intended to provide a foundation for adaptation to suit all localities. The Child Friendly Cities Initiative emerged in recognition of several important trends: the rapid transformation and urbanisation of global societies; the growing responsibilities of municipalities and communities for their populations in the context of decentralisation; and consequently, the increasing importance of cities and towns within national political and economic systems. The initiative represents a strategy for promoting the highest quality of life for all citizens.

The cities of the world are often regarded as hubs of wealth and privilege, but they are also home to hundreds of millions of children for whom poverty and exclusion are a daily reality. Some of these children live on the street; many more live in dangerous, insanitary housing which often lacks the most basic amenities, including clean water and satisfactory sanitation. These urban children rarely have access to adequate services, including schooling, or to safe areas for play and recreation. The imperative of economic survival can mean not only that parents are unable to dedicate sufficient time to childcare, but also that children themselves are forced to work, often in hazardous conditions. Yet all this need not be the case: this Digest examines the potential of good urban governance founded upon human rights principles to promote positive change for and with children. The key to eradicating urban poverty and exclusion lies in the development of child-friendly cities where children’s rights are made a priority in budgeting, planning and resource allocation and where children’s voices inform the democratic process.

Le città del mondo sono spesso considerate luoghi in cui abbonda la ricchezza e il privilegio. Esse ospitano però centinaia di milioni di bambini per i quali la povertà e l'esclusione sono una realtà quotidiana. Alcuni di questi bambini vivono nelle strade; molti altri vivono in alloggi pericolosi e insalubri che spesso sono privi dei più basilari servizi igienici, come una fonte di acqua pulita. I bambini urbani hanno raramente accesso a strutture adeguate, come scuole o luoghi sicuri dove giocare. L'imperativo della sopravvivenza economica può significare non solo che i genitori non sono in grado di dedicare loro il tempo sufficiente, ma anche che gli stessi bambini sono costretti a lavorare, spesso in condizioni pericolose. Eppure tutto questo sarebbe evitabile: questo Digest prende in esame le potenzialità di un buon governo, fondato sui princìpi dei diritti umani, nel promuovere un cambiamento positivo per e con i bambini. La povertà e l'esclusione urbana possono essere eliminate in città che siano amiche dei bambini, dove i diritti dell’infanzia siano una priorità nella pianificazione di bilancio, nella progettazione e nell'attribuzione delle risorse, e dove i bambini possano far sentire la loro voce nel processo democratico.

The cities of the world are often regarded as hubs of wealth and privilege, but they are also home to hundreds of millions of children for whom poverty and exclusion are a daily reality. Some of these children live on the street; many more live in dangerous, insanitary housing which often lacks the most basic amenities, including clean water and satisfactory sanitation. These urban children rarely have access to adequate services, including schooling, or to safe areas for play and recreation. The imperative of economic survival can mean not only that parents are unable to dedicate sufficient time to childcare, but also that children themselves are forced to work, often in hazardous conditions. Yet all this need not be the case: this Digest examines the potential of good urban governance founded upon human rights principles to promote positive change for and with children. The key to eradicating urban poverty and exclusion lies in the development of child-friendly cities where children’s rights are made a priority in budgeting, planning and resource allocation and where children’s voices inform the democratic process.