AC08 SAFE PUBLIC SPACES / SCHOOL ROUTES

Aim

►Generic: think, plan, project and maintain cities counting with women by focusing on those tasks traditionally assigned to women that have not been taken into account either by policies or urban planning. Consider the women tasks at the same level as those of production.

►Specific of the school path:
Create a network of safe routes so that children can move around on foot or by bicycle in their daily journeys, especially to school.

Why?

Urban planning has been dominated by men controling the decision-making processes. For this reason, the city and the growth model have prioritized productive tasks and economic activities, over the reproductive and care tasks of society. The enjoyment and safety aspects of public spaces (streets, squares, itineraries in general) have been considered a secondary issue. The most affected by this situation are the most vulnerable groups because they are far from that power structure: women and the childhood, even as principal users of the public space. Changing this scenario requires involving women in the decision-making phases in urban planning.

Some of the main aspects that are underlined with the incorporation of the feminine perspective are the following:

• The design of safe spaces that prevent dangerous situations for them and children.
• Prioricing pedestrian uses, accessibility and suppression of architectural barriers.
• The diversity of functions that avoid unnecessary travel.
• Adaptation of public transport to the specific needs of women.

Another group affected by this situation are young people and children. We have come to believe that the optimal mode of travel is the individual in own vehicle because the city has been designed to favor this transport mode. Besides, there’s a growing feeling of fear, as we turn to believe that the city is increasingly insecure. However, this perception is fed back with the maintenance of that dominant mobility structure.

The sustainable strategy addressed in this sheet is that of the school path as an example of a safe path because it is more quantifiable in terms of impact on the urban environment due to pollution and energy consumption, without forgetting its sociological benefits. The school path projects study the mobility needs for children in order to create adequate conditions for their daily movements, in particular to schools.

Implementing this measure affects many aspects related with sustanibility and social relations and childhood development:
• Increase child autonomy.
• Increase the number of children who come walking or cycling to school.
• Reduce the number of private vehicles reaching the school surroundings.
• Transfers trips from private vehicles to public transport when distances are large.
• Encourage children to come in the company of friends or classmates.

How?

The so called, safe school rutes Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier. Transportation, public health and planning professionals, council politics, school communities, law enforcement officers, community groups and families all have roles to play using education, encouragement, engineering (changes to the physical environment). A safe school route project may have focus on different mobility problems depending on school urban situation.

There are different planning guides that explain the managing process of safe school routes and show the different options (pedestrian / cyclist / public transport) and real examples around the world. The script of the process is structured in the following phases:

► Phase 1. First studies.
• Definition of the project and objectives.
• Creation of a technical commission.

► Phase 2. Diagnosis.
• Analysis of mobility routines.
• Drawing of maps with possible routes.
• Pointing of the problems and their origin.

► Phase 3. Development of the plan and action proposal.
• Propositions to improve the mobility conditions in the itineraries.
• Proposition to organize the itineraries.
• Calendar and resources.

► Phase 4. Monitoring and evaluation

The main task can be the selection of some routes that can bring together a good number of schoolchildren from a certain neighborhood to the school. Once the route is chosen, it’s necessary to identify points of possible road safety conflicts. If the council or other administration levels are involved in the project they may carry with the cost of some urban improvements. You can also count on other agents, such as people who run businesses located along the route, following the experiences inspired by the work of Francesco Tonucci.

The main obstacle is that we live in a fear or distrust dominated society. There is a widespread perception that the street is a dangerous place for the childhood and, although the traffic is responsible for a significant part of this fear, but not only. In a perverse process citizens lost the sense of belonging to the public spaces so the street is perceived, increasingly, as a residual space where all kinds of dangers can appear and where nothing good can happen. However, the real statistics does not reinforce this fear.

Walking School Bus. Source: University of Salford Press Office

The planned itinerary of the safe school route can be pedestrian, by bike or in public transport. Source: www.streetfilms.org