Much of our work has been concerned with open space planning for children in New York City. In recent years this has expanded to a broader concern with the planning of the physical environment for children in cities of the Majority World.

CERG has been particularly concerned with improving planning for children at the neighborhood or community scale by finding improved ways to involve residents, including children and youth themselves. CERG has taken a leading role in the Child Friendly Cities and Communities Assessment and Monitoring Project, a rights-based approach to urban development.

CERG uses its research and that of others to formulate and address policy questions via conferences and mass media, and in collaboration with municipal, state and federal agencies. The New York City Schoolyards Project initiated new programs in schoolyards through a combined effort of a conference for principals and teachers, an international schoolyard design competition, research on schoolyards and the design of a demonstration schoolyard.

CERG has found model-building to be the most effective tool for involving children in the design of spaces. This is one of a series of alternative designs for a small plaza. These designs were all arranged on the street outside a subway station in East Harlem in order to intercept local residents returning from work and obtain their feedback.

Design: Programming & Evaluation

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