CHILD IN THE CITY CONFERENCE 2026

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

New this edition

• 1

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  Recent editions of the Child in the City series have given growing programme space to temporary street closures around homes and school gates, because they are cheap, fast and politically visible. Treat this as a series-level emphasis: confirm the 2026 session line-up on childinthecity.org before quoting it as a confirmed track.

• 2

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  The series has been pushing CRIA out of policy statements and into actual development and transport decisions, with city officers presenting how assessments changed a scheme. Confirm the 2026 programme for the specific case studies presented.

• 3

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  Alongside plenary sessions, the event has used project showcases and poster walls so municipal teams can present pilots such as traffic-calmed school routes or co-designed playgrounds in a short format. Stand allocation and formats for 2026 are set by the organiser.

• 4

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  Host cities typically use the conference to take delegates onto the street, visiting playgrounds, play streets or school streets in the host city. Study visit routes, capacity and any extra fee for the 2026 edition are published by the organiser.

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Child-Friendly City (CFC)

A municipality that commits to putting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice at local level: children's participation in decisions, child impact assessment of policies and projects, and measurable improvements in public space, mobility, housing and services. CFC status is usually claimed through a formal local strategy rather than a single project.

2

UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI)

The global framework, launched in 1996, that gives cities a recognition and self-assessment route to child-friendly status. It sets out building blocks covering legislation, a children's budget, a city-wide strategy, child rights impact assessment, a children's commissioner or coordinating body, and access to independent complaint mechanisms for children.

3

Child rights impact assessment (CRIA)

A structured appraisal, done before a decision is taken, of how a policy, budget line, transport scheme or development project will affect children and which groups of children it will affect most. In city administrations it is typically applied to road and street redesigns, school siting, housing plans and regeneration schemes.

4

Child participation

The right of children to be heard in matters that concern them, set out in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In urban practice it covers children's councils, participatory budgeting with schools, design workshops on playgrounds and streets, and feedback loops showing children what changed as a result of their input.

5

Play street

A residential street closed to through motor traffic for defined hours so children can play on the carriageway close to home. Schemes usually run with resident stewards, temporary barriers and a permit from the local authority, and are often piloted before becoming a recurring weekend or after-school arrangement.

6

School street

A street section next to a school entrance closed to motorised traffic at drop-off and pick-up times, with exemptions for residents, deliveries and blue-badge holders. Common in European cities as a low-cost way to cut traffic danger and improve air quality at the school gate.

7

Playable space

Public space designed to invite spontaneous, unstructured play rather than only fixed equipment: loose materials, water, planting, level changes, seating that doubles as a climbing surface, and sightlines that let children move between areas. The concept shifts budget from single fenced playgrounds to streets, squares and parks.

8

Free-range play and independent mobility

Children's ability to move around their neighbourhood, and play outdoors, without adult supervision. Measured through travel surveys and school journey data, it is a common outcome indicator for child-friendly city strategies alongside road casualty and air-quality data.

9

30 km/h zone and traffic calming

Street design and regulation that reduce motor vehicle speeds in residential areas to 30 km/h or lower, using narrowed lanes, raised tables, planters, junction tightening and signage. The measure is central to child road safety work because pedestrian survival rates rise sharply at lower impact speeds.

10

8-80 city

A design test popularised in child-friendly urbanism: streets and public spaces should work for an eight-year-old child and an eighty-year-old adult, the two groups most dependent on safe, legible, low-speed environments. Used by planners as a shorthand for accessibility, sightlines, crossing times and seating.

11

Urban95

A Bernard van Leer Foundation initiative that asks city planners to design from the viewpoint of a healthy 95 cm tall child, roughly a three-year-old, and their caregiver. It focuses on the first 1,000 days, pram-accessible routes, nearby green space and services reachable on foot.

12

Participatory budgeting with children

A process in which a defined slice of a municipal or district budget is allocated after children and young people propose, cost and vote on projects, for example playground upgrades, lighting on school routes or youth space. Distinct from consultation because spending follows the vote.