Raising the healthiest generation in history
Children from deprived backgrounds are more likely to live in poor-quality homes and suffer worse health outcomes. It’s the role of social landlords to change this, writes Gemma Hyde, policy and projects manager at the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA)
Gemma Hyde is policy and projects manager at TCPA
For decades, governments, policymakers and the planning system in England have failed to create places and spaces where children and young people develop well and thrive. Poorly planned and designed homes, streets and neighbourhoods have failed children and young people, undermined their quality of life and negatively affected their opportunities as adults and future parents.
Critically, children from the most deprived backgrounds are more likely to live in poor-quality homes and environments and to experience poorer health outcomes, including higher risks of mortality and poorer physical and mental health.
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In November 2023, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (LUHC, now called the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee) launched an inquiry looking into how better planning, building and urban design in England could enhance the health and well-being of children and young people.
They received written evidence from over 130 organisations and individuals and explored expert evidence across three in-person sessions. However, when the general election was called in May 2024, the committee was dissolved before it could publish its recommendations to the government.
The TCPA’s report Raising the healthiest generation in history: why it matters where children and young people live picks up where the LUHC Committee left off. Written in collaboration between the organisations Playing Out and Fields in Trust, architect Dinah Bornat and childhood expert Tim Gill, the report provides a summary of the evidence across seven themes, as well as clear recommendations to the government to improve children and young people’s health and well-being.
“Today, parked cars, passing traffic, high vehicle speeds, blocked pavements and the reasonable fears of caregivers and children themselves all contribute to fewer children regularly playing outside than ever before”
All the themes in the report will be of interest to social landlords that are key providers of homes and neighbourhoods in the UK, providing homes for over a million children in England and Wales. Social landlords, which have a long-term duty of care for all their tenants, are well placed to adopt a child-focused approach – listening to and addressing the needs of children and young people, and providing homes, public green spaces and community assets that support healthy development and behaviours.
In particular, the report covers the need to welcome children and young people into public areas of all kinds, holding space for them in the public realm and supporting play and physical activity.
Only a few decades ago it was the daily norm for children and young people to play and socialise outside. Today, parked cars, passing traffic, high vehicle speeds, blocked pavements and the reasonable fears of caregivers and children themselves all contribute to fewer children regularly playing outside than ever before.
Barriers to play and being outside also arise from societal attitudes towards children and young people, where adults too often view their presence in public as a nuisance and a contributor to anti-social behaviour. An outworking for this is the prevalence of ‘no ball games’ signs and complaints of noise when children and young people play and socialise outside.
Raising the healthiest generation in history calls for all new development and street design to incorporate space for doorstep play – public and semi-public open space for play that is immediately outside the home, without the need to cross a road.
This is needed, as children and young people face stark inequalities in access to outdoor spaces and play opportunities. One in eight children live in homes without access to gardens or balconies, rising to one in five for children living in London. Research by Fields in Trust found that 500,000 children in the UK live more than a 10-minute walk from any type of park, playground or green space, with significant variation, meaning that, for some children, that distance is much greater.
“One in eight children live in homes without access to gardens or balconies, rising to one in five for children living in London”
The pro-play housing network, launched by Clarion Housing Group and Playing Out, is a collaborative response with housing partners to tackle these issues. The initiative seeks to share knowledge and build pro-play cultures within organisations to tackle barriers to play, such as restrictive policies (those ‘no ball games’ signs), as well as drive investment in spaces and projects that activate play in housing developments.
Projects include temporary closures of streets for safe play (known as play streets) and initiatives to find out what children and young people want in their areas, taking opportunities to co-create provision. By embedding play-positive policies and strategies, housing providers can contribute to normalising everyday outdoor play and foster community cohesion in the process, which benefits all residents.
There is a compelling case for social landlords to take a leading role in shaping communities that prioritise the needs of children and young people. Initiatives like the pro-play network exemplify how housing providers can drive meaningful change to ensure that all children live in places that support their health and well-being, providing the opportunity for them to thrive.
Gemma Hyde, policy and projects manager, Town and Country Planning Association
