What a “City of Children” can look like

Maria wants a lake with an open-air cinema, Amelie doesn’t want cars and factories blowing so many exhaust fumes into the air, but she wants enough space for animals and Matthias suggests a Pokémon center as an attraction for the city of Linz. More than 50 children drew these and many other “super visions” on paper. They were also the guests of honor at the Linz People’s Party’s “Future Talk” yesterday in the Moviemento cinema. There, experts discussed child-friendly urban design under the motto “Children in power, rethinking the city” at the invitation of Deputy Mayor Martin Hajart.

More on the subject: More pedestrians, fewer cars in Domgasse

Everyone sees a need for action

Everyone sees a need for action. There is a lack of access to natural areas, opportunities for free play, exercise elements and family-friendly places. “Cities are not suitable for children,” says Raphaela Kogler from the Vienna University of Technology, “there is a lack of open spaces.” The children’s wishes are clear: no cars and less garbage on the streets, lots of water, greenery and opportunities to play – from a riding arena to a climbing wall. In her dissertation, Kogler dealt with children as city dwellers and advocates for spaces that allow for multifunctionality, not just classic, well-designed and regulated playgrounds. A niche in the park, a fallow area or a hedge could become a playground and fantasy space.

Network of venues

It looks similar to dhe Linz urbanist, architect and artist Clemens Bauder. He proposes a network of venuess spans the entire city, turning squares into family-friendly places that capture the imagination. A bank doesn’t just have to be a bank but can be a lot of things, a form that can trigger a lot of things. It’s about nonee predefined situations, but free development. Bauder, who is also involved in the redesign and traffic calming of Domgasse, gives three concrete examples that could be implemented immediately in Linz. For example, a street could be closed to traffic at the weekend and turned into a temporary play street, niches in parks could be left “wild” and thus enable new play ideas for children. He also has a suggestion for the much-discussed fairgrounds in Urfahr: you could build the “greatest” exercise course there together with children.

Formulate realistic goals

As a role model for free peopleThe children’s museum Zoom in Vienna’s Museum Quarter is often called the game. Director Andrea Zsutty was also a guest in Linz and asked the question of what should happen to the children’s many drawn suggestions. “In the next round you would have to formulate three realistic goals, stand up for them and implement them,” she says in relation to city politics. Otherwise participation is a fig leaf.

Also read: Linz city center concept: Now the citizens have their say

According to Hajart, there will be concrete suggestions in the city center concept, which is currently being worked on and will be presented in the fall. In any case, Hajart wants a children’s focus for the southern country road and the main square. “It brings parents into the city center and promotes trade and the economy,” he says.

“Children are the present”

The star of the evening was children’s book author Thomas Brezina, who held the adults accountable. “Children have many ideas and thoughts, but only adults have the power to implement them,” says the father of the Knickerbocker gang. He doesn’t think much of the well-known saying “Children are the future”. “Children are not just the future, but the present, we have to give them the space now and make them happy,” says Brezina.

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