Why & How

A good start in life, for its youngest urban residents, is the best investment a city can make.

Photo credit - Bernard van Leer Foundation

Nurturing cities for brighter future

Urban design and city planning play a crucial role in shaping the early years (0- 5 years) of a child’s life – the period most vital for a child’s long-term health and development. Urban environments also impact caregiver’s behaviour and their capacity to nurture their babies’ development through play, affection, and healthy nutrition.

Babies, toddlers and caregivers need a healthy environment, easy access to crucial services, interaction with warm, responsive people and safe and stimulating spaces to explore and play.

Why 0-5 matters

There is compelling evidence, from the fields of public health, neuroscience and economics, that investing in early childhood development can translate to better health, greater ability to learn and work with others, and higher incomes in adulthood.

Research indicates that in the first years of life, a child’s brain makes as many as 1 million new neural connections per second. The quality of experiences during the first 1,000 days of life is vital for a good start in life and depends on a supportive ecosystem and physical environment that allows a child to maximise his or her potential.

Caring for Caregivers​

Early parenthood is a pivotal phase marked by intense mental and physical stress for caregivers. From pregnancy through the early years, parents, especially mothers, face time poverty due to disproportionate caregiving burdens, often leading to workforce dropout. The stress of caregiving during this time often undermines their well-being and caregiving capacity. Fathers also shape family health: their bond with young children supports the emotional well-being of both the child and the mother. Supporting parents in their caregiving roles begins with prioritizing their own well-being. Creating a supportive ecosystem, through responsive caregiving guidance, accessible early childhood services, and inclusive public spaces that foster social connection is essential for nurturing parental well-being and, by extension, thriving families.

Framework for an Infant – Toddler – Caregiver Neighbourhood

The following five objectives provide a roadmap for city managers to create healthy, stimulating, and desirable neighbourhoods for everyone, by fulfilling the needs of young children and their caregivers. ITCN refers to the Infant, Toddler, Caregiver-Friendly Neighbourhoods (ITCN) framework of the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, developed in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (available here).

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SAFE
 
  • Safe to walk or bike while daydreaming or mentally distracted
  • Structured, demarcarted, space is assigned
  • Eyes on the street, trust of neighbors
  • Slow
  • Respectful of privacy

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PLAYFUL
 
  • Attention focusing (not grabbing)
  • Enveloping and protecting from distraction
  • Challenging
  • Committed to culture
  • Authored by and memorializing of the childhoods belonging to it

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ACCESSIBLE
 
  • Legible
  • Flexible
  • Free of physical and virtual obstacles
  • Clusters of services/convenient
  • Predictable and dependable,well communicated services

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INCLUSIVE
 
  • Listening and responding to needs of residents through engagement
  • Even and thorough implementation of interventions
  • Transparent processes
  • Fair to all, not just "owners"
  • Objective, informed by data

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GREEN
 
  • Comfortable and protected from elements
  • Quiet
  • Bio-diverse
  • Renewable energy sources
  • Future-oriented, green technologies

Nurturing Neighbourhoods 2.0 Program​

The Nurturing Neighbourhoods 2.0 (NN 2.0) program aims to support a network of cities in India to lead mainstreaming of the young children and caregiver-centric development through supportive infrastructure and services. This will result in improving access to public spaces within walking distances along with enhanced health and wellbeing of young children and caregivers. NN 2.0 is supported by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Van Leer Foundation with technical support from WRI India. ​​

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Why & How