Youth-centric city: school-oriented transportation planning informed by play-based and child-friendly design in mid-sized cities

Abstract

Car-centric North-American cities focus on workforce and resource mobility, which led to the decline of youth’s independent mobility as safety concerns grow for children in this hostile environment. Unfortunately, in mid-size cities, public transit is inefficient, which subjects children to car dependency from a young age. Transportation habits are thus environmentally unsustainable, harmful to physical health, as well as detrimental to the well-being and cognitive development of teens. Leveraging research on child-friendly planning and play-based design, this thesis argues that a novel approach to transportation and urban planning is required to support the healthy development of teens, increase their mobility, and as such develop good transportation literacy and habits that can stop the cycle of car dependency. This thesis thus proposes to extend Sudbury’s (Ontario) public transit through a school- oriented system that connects youth areas of interest and adds playful hubs to cater to the young population, too often overlooked.