#27. Tim Gill. Let Them Play, Designing Cities for People

Tim Gill is a writer, consultant and independent researcher championing children’s everyday freedoms, especially their freedom to move and play outdoors. He’s the author of No Fear (on risk aversion) and Urban Playground (child-friendly planning and design), and has worked with NGOs and cities internationally to put children at the heart of neighbourhood design.Tim is particularly focused on the fundamental conflict between cars and children, and the urgent need to reframe how we think about cars, streets and neighbourhoods.While some of this may seem remote from children’s outdoor play, he sees these issues as connected: we will only give children the spatial freedoms they deserve when we reduce the dominance of the car - both in the places where we live and inside our heads.Designing for children isn’t a niche add-on, it’s a way to build safer, calmer streets, stronger communities, and lifelong confidence, with benefits that reach every age.Resources mentioned Tim Gill — No Fear (free download) Tim Gill — Urban Playground Vauban, Freiburg case studyGreat Kneighton (Cambridge) overview Playout Play Streets Toolkit School Streets (toolkits) Dinah Bornat — All to Play For Childhood and nature: a survey on changing relationships with nature across generations