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CFP: Childfriendly Cities

4th International Conference on Geographies of Children, Young people  and Families.
San Diego. January 12-15, 2015
http://icgcsandiego.wix.com/ypbw

Paper Session Organizers: Lia Karsten and Willem van Vliet

Session theme: Childfriendly cities: critical approaches

Many of the papers within children’s geographies end with some kind of recommendation for the building of childfriendly cities. But what do we mean by childfriendly cities? In this workshop we want to explore different ways of conceptualizing children, cities, childfriendliness and their interrelationships.

Policies aimed at childfriendly cities presuppose that cities are not childfriendly: cities have to change in order to become child-friendly. This supposition reveals an anti-urban way of thinking. It juxtaposes the urban jungle vs. the rural idyll.These contrasting connotations are very much based on the relatively poor provision of outdoor play facilities in urban environments and their assumed abundance in rural environments. But today, enrichment activities have become more prominent in many children’s everyday life.  Will this emphasis on enrichment activities change the rural into the urban idyll?

Childfriendly approaches/policies/actions  and the conceptualization of children as the ‘same’ as and as ‘different’ from adults. In modernist planning, childfriendly interventions often imply creating child-specific facilities and spaces: designated  especially and ‘only’ for children. This approach views children as fundamentally different from adults. They are defined as vulnerable and in need of specific protection and provision.  Age-specific playgrounds are a good example of this. Another way of creating childfriendly cities is by building inclusive cities in which children’s needs are taken into account without isolating them in their own domains. Wide sidewalks, as advocated by Jane Jacobs, are a good  example.  This second approach views children as essentially similar to adults as citizens of the city.  The question thus arises: Which of these two approaches is better for creating child-friendly cities? This question, in turn, leads to an examination of different definitions of  childfriendliness.

Childfriendly cities and children’s own definitions. What do children themselves consider childfriendly? Do their definitions differ from those held by  adults?  Further, children are not a homogeneous group.  Do we find differences in children’s own definitions of child-friendliness across gender, age group, social class, racial and ethnic background, residential location?  And how can we best support children’s participation in city planning and urban development to promote child-friendly outcomes??

This paper session aims to critically explore different issues related to childfriendly cities.

We invite researchers to send title and abstract of a maximum of 250 words by August 15 to both Lia Karsten (c.j.m.karsten@uva.nl) and Willem van Vliet (willem@colorado.edu  ). We will reply before the 1st of September and intend to select papers for a special issue of the Journal: Children, Youth and Environments to be published in 2015-16.

Still time to apply for these Fall 2014 Master’s programs

University of Sussex – MA in Childhood and Youth Studies

It’s not too late to apply to for a September start for the Masters in Childhood and Youth Studies at the University of Sussex. MACYS is a one year taught Masters closely linked to the dynamic Centre for Innovation in Childhood and Youth (CIRCY) which runs many exciting projects in areas such as digital childhoods, children’s political participation, and the everyday lives of young people in care. The MA course is taught by leading researchers and practitioners and we support MACYS students to become researchers in their own right as well as practitioners with specialist knowledge and skills. If you would like to find out if MACYS is right for you contact Professor Rachel Thomson (r.thomson@sussex.ac.uk), and explore our websites:

University of Gloucester – MA Professional Studies in Children’s Play

Our popular taught Masters programme for people working within the realm of children’s play is open for applications until the 15th August for a September 14 start. Offered part time via distance/blended learning, our programme is accessible to all no matter where in the world you live. For more info:
http://www.glos.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/psc/Pages/ProfessionalStudiesinChildrensPlay.aspx

 

 

New titles on Children, Young People and Families — Policy Press, University of Bristol

JUST RELEASED
by Ray Jones
We are very pleased to announced that The story of Baby P will be publishing on 16 July. This long-awaited book had been on hold, pending the conclusion the hacking trial. This book is the first to tell what happened to ‘Baby P’, how the story was told by the media and its considerable impact on the child protection system in England. 
£10.39 on our website
 
COMING SOON
Edited by Jane Ribbens McCarthy, Carol-Ann Hooper and Val Gillies
In this important, timely and thought-provoking publication, a wide range of contributors explore how “troubles” feature in “normal” families, and how the “normal” features in “troubled” families. 
£19.99 on our website
 
by Carmel Smith and Sheila Greene
Presents the perspectives of 22 leading figures involved in shaping the field of Childhood Studies over the last 30 years. They reflect on the changes that have taken place in the study of children and childhood, discuss ideas underpinning the field, examine current dilemmas and explore challenges for the future.
£60.00 on our website
Maggie Blyth
Three years after the publication of the influential Munro Report (2011) this important publication draws together a range of experts working in the field of child protection to critically examine what impact the reforms have had on multi agency child protection systems in this country, at both local and national level. 
£13.59 on our website
Edited by Pam Foley and Andy Rixon
This new edition of the bestselling textbook critically examines the potential and reality of closer ‘working together’ and asks whether such new ways of working will be able to respond more effectively to the needs and aspirations of children and their families. 
£17.59 on our website
 
by Jenny Reynolds, Catherine Houlston, Lester Coleman and Gordon Harold 
The book shows how children are affected by conflict, explores why they respond to conflict in different ways, and provides clear, practical guidance on the best ways to ameliorate the effects.
£13.59 on our website
Edited by Ludovica Gambaro, Kitty Stewart and Jane Waldfogel
In this original, topical book, leading experts from eight countries examine how early education and care is organised, funded and regulated in their countries. 
£56.00 on our website
Don’t forget you can sign up for a free trial of the Families, Relationships & Societies journal. Find out how here

 

Oxford Ethnography Conference 2014

Registration is now open for the 2014 Oxford Ethnography Conference from Monday 15th at 13.30 to Wednesday 17th September 2014 at 17.00
Registration closes at the end of July.
Go to the following address for registration forms and conference information
http://www.ethnography.webspace.virginmedia.com/Ethnography_Conference/Home_page.html

We look forward to over 50 international discussion papers that focus on educational contexts and issues through ethnography and ethnographic methods including empirical fieldwork as well as methodological papers focusing on research activity. This year’s conference, as usual will be held again at New College Oxford, founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, and is located on an historic site in the centre of the city. http://www.new.ox.ac.uk/

 We always have a large representation from outside the UK – over 50%. As many of you know, we publish a journal, Ethnography and Education, for which papers from the Oxford Ethnography Conference provide a rich resource.
The registration fee for the two and a half day conference will be £180 (plus accommodation). This includes:
Tea, coffee for the three days and lunches on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th
A year’s subscription to the Ethnography and Education Journal
A choice of any available book from our Ethnography and Education Book Series
Conference Culture
We aim to create a positive and collegial atmosphere, and there will be ample opportunity for people to meet, talk and socialize.
As previously, all papers will be circulated before the conference, via the conference website, to enable 40 minute sessions to be developed almost entirely to a discussion of the research findings, methods and wider issues attached to each paper.
Please feel free to pass this information onto other interested parties.

New Release – Children in a Sri Lankan Village by Bambi Chapin

New from Rutgers University Press!

Children in a Sri Lankan Village

Shaping Hierarchy and Desire

Bambi L. Chapin

“What makes this book so special is that it does not stop at description, as do most ethnographies. It goes on to explain Sinhalese childhood and child rearing, doing so within a well-considered, smartly-deployed psychoanalytic framework.” —Naomi Quinn, professor emerita, Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University

Ju
ly 2014, $27.95 (paper)

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