Children and young people have unique perspectives on the world around them and the spaces they frequent. These perspectives should be heard when considering the future of neighbourhoods in South Australia.
From what children and young people have told the Commissioner, it is clear that where they grow up has a profound influence on their lives. It determines what facilities are available to them, their access to and from school, what opportunities for activity and employment are available, and it can mean the difference between ‘getting on’ in life or feeling left out.
Children’s views on where they live are seldom sought or considered, so the Commissioner asked primary school students to draw their local neighbourhoods with the goal of gathering their insights into what they see and how they connect to the world around them, including what they believe is the most challenging thing about where they live and what they would change if they could.
What is clear from these insights is that neighbourhoods need to be child friendly and child safe. They need to be places where children have access to what they need to develop healthy, happy lives. If we committed to placing children’s and young people’s best interests at the centre of decision-making around planning and building of local neighbourhoods, the positive impact this would have on South Australian children would be enormous.