Cities in Jiangsu Province have stepped up efforts to create child-friendly public space.
After the National Development and Reform Commission issued a guideline on building child-friendly urban environment on October 15, 2021, the province's cities of Nanjing, Suzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Wuxi and Zhenjiang have all incorporated the guideline into development planning. The commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council have recently promulgated construction standards for such space.
In the children's zone at Suzhou Library North, five-year-old An'an can easily take a book from the bookshelf designed with children's height in mind. He Yali, staff memberat the library, said the reading zone is specially created for preschoolers. The bookshelves are around one meter high and the self-service screens are of 60 centimeters high.
(Photo from Xuzhou International Garden Expo)
The children center at the venue for the International Garden Expo in Xuzhou has also paid particular attention to needs of children. For example, the shelves in the center and tables for children to experience hydroponics are about 50 and 60 centimeters high respectively. To make the center more interesting, a bird-watching tower has also been installed for young visitors.
In Wuxi's first child-friendly neighborhood, all indoor signs are set at around one meter high and bookcases, tables, chairs and display cabinets are also suitable for the heights of children.
In Nanjing, Lushan neighborhood in Jianye District has opened a zone for children to observe insects. The zebra crossing on the road near the Women and Children's Activity Centre in Suzhou features 3D designs and blue footprints of toddlers.
Lu Yuan, lecturer at Nanjing University's School of Social Sciences, said the height-sensitive designs showcase respect to children's needs in urban development and this child-friendly approach should be adopted in new type of urbanization and rural vitalization campaigns too.
