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Benefits of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative

Pamela Wridt (Conscious Data Inc., USA)
Danielle Goldberg (UNICEF, USA)
Yvonne Vissing (Salem State University, USA)
Maddy Wegner (HREUSA, USA)
Adrianna Zhang (Stanford University, USA)

Sociological Research and Urban Children and Youth

ISBN: 978-1-80117-445-9, eISBN: 978-1-80117-444-2

Publication date: 2 October 2023

Abstract

The Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) is a UNICEF-led collective impact intervention aimed at promoting children’s rights at the city and community levels. The CFCI operationalizes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for local governments through a framework for action aimed at realizing the rights of young people under 18 years of age: (1) to be valued, respected and treated fairly; (2) to be heard; (3) to access social services; (4) to be safe; and (5) to participate in family, life, play and leisure. This chapter provides an historical analysis of the CFCI globally and in the United States, and how this intervention draws upon and advances sociological research on young people’s meaningful participation. We present three case studies to analyze young people’s participation in CFCIs and the lessons learned from Houston, Texas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and San Francisco, California.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following CFCI local government leaders for their review and assistance on this chapter:

  • Laura Cuellar (CFCI Program Manager, City of Houston’s Office of Education & Youth Engagement).

  • Olivera Jankovska Director of Education, City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Education and Youth Rachel Oberg-Hauser (Director of Projects, Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board).

  • Ann DeGroot (Executive Director, Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board).

  • Sarah Schiele (Youth Development and Sexual Health Coordinator, City of Minneapolis).

  • Rachel Oberg-Hauser (Director of Projects, Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board.

  • Jasmine Dawson (Deputy Director of City & Community Partnership, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families).

Citation

Wridt, P., Goldberg, D., Vissing, Y., Rudelius-Palmer, K., Wegner, M. and Zhang, A. (2023), "Benefits of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative", Berman, R., Albanese, P. and Chen, X. (Ed.) Sociological Research and Urban Children and Youth (Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Vol. 32), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 155-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1537-466120230000032010

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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