Re-plan cities for children playgrounds, experts advise

There is an urgent need to re-plan Nairobi and other towns to make them children-friendlier with social facilities, experts have advised.

In many urban settings, roads including those in estates are too congested with no adequate side space for children to walk freely without worrying about their safety.

Even worse is the failure to plan for open spaces where children can play.

President of Athletics Kenya Lieutenant General (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei, says to design a city without adequate safety facilities for children is risking their lives and putting the future of the country’s sporting competitiveness in jeopardy.

Lack of space to exercise will affect their talent development in becoming great athletes and sportsmen and women of the future, laments Gen Tuwei.

“Children are pillars of any progressive society, and how adults treat them will likely influence their morality and social status tomorrow. They like to spend time playing games but majority of our estates are designed without consideration for facilities such as fields where they can go and empty themselves. When taking a tour around Nairobi, I really sympathise with children, many of whom I see without any spaces left for them to rest or play. It calls for city planners to go back to the drawing board and re-design the city with empathy for child welfare,” he emphasises.

Backing Gen Tuwei’s views, Dr Catherine Karekezi, Executive Director, Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance Kenya (NCDAK), says lack of playing fields harms children’s mental and physical development.

“Scenes of children trying to compete with traffic as they walk to or from school are very common in our towns and cities. This paints a picture of a society that does not prioritise their plight,” she laments.

Dr Eunice Nyavanga, a clinical psychologist with Bibwob Clinical Psychologists Consultants, Nairobi, decries the way developers are establishing estates without giving a thought to children, and where they would be playing.

“We are inviting a disaster in future. When children are growing up without somewhere to exercise their skills, play or socialise amongst themselves, they don’t grow up healthy mentally and emotionally. When children get to be together they learn how to deal with their own issues. If they have disagreements, they know how to sort out their own issues amicably,” she explains.  

According to Dr Nyavanga, children who get exposed to others grow up to be social and understanding. Those who grow up in a confined and controlled environment such as inside the house with only gadgets will find it difficult to socialise with other people.

Closed mind

“We are brewing up a disaster by denying children the opportunity to play and exercise their mind and skills as they mimic life in the society where they live. We are brooding a generation with a closed mind that will be anti-social, which will be driven by a ‘me-me behaviour’.

To avert such a social crisis, Dr Nyavanga, who is also a lecturer in one of the local universities, urges the national and county governments to put policies in place that will protect public facilities, particularly safeguarding children playing ground.

“Every estate should have a playing field where children can play, jog or cycle. It is not asking for too much considering the risk of failing to provide our children with adequate space to release their built-up pressures. The current state of unrest in schools can be traced to a generation of learners that is too much focused on themselves without balancing their needs against the reality of life in society,” she says.  

According to Dr Romanus Opiyo, a sustainable urbanisation specialist working with the Stockholm Environment Institute – Africa Centre, failure by the two levels of governments to invest in land banking for future development has contributed to the mess of poorly planned urban settings.

“Land acquisition to put up the intended infrastructure correctly is proving to be a very costly process to the taxpayer. The mistakes manifested from a lack of political goodwill to allow planning to freely take its own course without interference. This happens especially where those in authority suspect the urban plan will threaten their political interests,” remarks Dr Opiyo.

Dr Opiyo, who is also a lecturer at the Urban and Regional Planning Department, University of Nairobi, adds that open spaces should be integrated with other development.

The national and county governments need to work closely with the urban boards and other key stakeholders including urban citizens in the preparation of plans and more so in investment in land banking so as to realise the future urban needs without displacing and creating discomfort in future.

“Now that as a country we have a National Spatial Plan covering a plan period (2015-2045), planners should be allowed to freely apply it to formulate futuristic plans at the counties, urban and neighbourhoods,” he concludes.