Children and the city: The complexities of interaction and participatory practices

Abstract

The article analyses children’s participation in decision-making at the city level based on research in the field of childhood and child protection, interpretation of the practice of engagement in city life (on the example of Novosibirsk), and expert opinion. Participation is relevant at different levels: individual, family, school, city, state and international. At the moment, in theoretical and practical terms, the individual, family, and school levels of engagement have been studied closer and implemented wider than participation at other levels. On the one hand, this is due to a smaller range of issues that children are able to influence in those areas. On the other hand, it can also be explained by a lack of awareness regarding the specifics of participatory practices at the level of the city, the state, etc. Engagement is associated with competencies that ensure that ultimate decisions are made that will not harm the child or others. And the expansion of these competences is associated with a gradual increase in the range of problems that are solved by children independently or in partnership with adults. The city is an important platform a the child to acquire and accumulate social experience, to develop essential social skills — the skills of participation in decision-making.

The article presents an analysis of the actual forms of children’s participation in decision-making at the city level. At the moment, one of the forms of participation in which children are involved is project activity. The content of the activity reveals its potential for the development of both, children and the urban environment. The project is an opportunity to establish cooperation between children and adults, where the duties and responsibilities of each party in achieving a common result will be clearly defined. This is a key element in addressing the challenges of children’s engagement, since, according to experts, the main problem lies in the lack of partners who support children’s participation, the unwillingness of adults to cooperate and to take children’s opinions seriously. Thus, the article focuses on such problems as adults’ reluctance to support and accompany children’s and youth engagement; the lack of infrastructure and partnerships between various social institutions in addressing issues of children’s engagement; borrowing random foreign experience that does not correspond to Russian socio-cultural reality. The author proposes some approaches to solving these difficulties.