Child-friendly blue urbanism should be based in an understanding of coastal children’s resilience and agencyGlobally, little attention has been given to understanding children’s experiences with urban blue spaces. As urban density rises in coastal cities, children are projected to comprise a significant part of the population residing in urban coastal zones. However, conceptions of child-friendly cities mainly focus on inland urban areas, and coastal urban areas, especially those in the developing countries, have been generally overlooked. To address this gap, this article draws on the existing literature on youth (under the age of 18) who inhabit coastal cities to conceptualize blue urbanism within the context of child-friendly cities. The article’s focus is on Coastal Cities at Risk, low lying coastal areas that are projected to be increasingly populated, where blue spaces are a prominent feature of children’s everyday lives, and which pose numerous risks to children related to degradation, climate change and other hazards.
While ecologically healthy blue spaces are beneficial for urban children’s health and well-being, this article calls attention to the risks of degraded coastal environments and critically examines children’s position within these societal failings. The article is based on the understanding that coastal planning and development generally fail to consider children’s rights. Therefore, urban projects often restrict children’s access to blue spaces. Further, in marginalized coastal cities, the dominant narrative may position children as “troublesome,” which undermines their potential to be viewed as stakeholders within the coastal environment. Additionally, in developing nations, children in coastal cities are disproportionately at risk of natural disasters, waterborne illnesses, and exposure to contaminated water and hazardous sea waste. Children are often viewed as responsible for encountering such hazards and are blamed for poorly choosing unsafe play spaces. “With all the well-meaning intentions of urban policies telling children to be aware of risks in coastal areas such as possible chemicals in floodwater, there is an embedded victim-blaming rhetoric that children exposed themselves to water-based diseases.” The author contends that blue urbanism must also acknowledge children’s resilience and agency in regard to natural disasters which should involve a “narrative shift from vulnerable-and-helpless populations to vulnerable but-able citizens who can express their needs and contribute to coastal resilience efforts and sustainable development.”
The article then proposes several considerations to advance blue urbanism for children. Engaging children as active participants in coastal cities should begin with acknowledgement of how urbanization has failed to meet children’s needs. Greater attention must be given to the structural and environmental issues that frame children’s lives and children should not be blamed for the risks they encounter in their coastal play. Blue urbanism must also acknowledge children’s resilience in deprived coastal settings. Recognizing children’s resilience will help to shift away from a narrative of vulnerability to one that recognizes children’s capacity to act for urban blue spaces. The article also offers insights for future research that can position children to experience agency towards their coastal environments. Such research must be rooted in an understanding that “not all children in coastal cities are equally positioned to enjoy blue spaces.” Therefore, research should strive to: identify how to align coastal resources with children’s needs; be cautious not to marginalize the voices of disadvantaged children; recognize that children in various development stages face urban challenges differently; and prioritize children’s perspectives and not only rely on experts or regulatory agencies to define children’s needs.
The article’s exploration of child-friendly blue urbanism offers a reconsideration of children’s relationship with urban blue spaces in marginalized coastal environments. Additionally, the critical examination of urban narratives about children in coastal cities highlights the ethical considerations implicit in urban design and policy that frame children’s lives.
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