Sarah El Haïry: "The city at child height is a project of modernity."

Batinfo: You advocate for a city "at child's height". Concretely, what does this mean today in the way we design the city?

Sarah El Haïry: Designing a city from a child's perspective is not about adding a playground to the end of a real estate project. It's about completely changing the way we think about urban planning.

A child-friendly city is a more breathable, safer, more accessible, and smarter city for everyone. This means rethinking mobility, ground floors, pedestrian walkways, acoustic quality, green spaces, proximity to essential services, and the modularity of housing.

Today, we know that a child who cannot move freely in their neighborhood is an indicator of urban failure. The city of tomorrow must integrate family-friendly design criteria from the very beginning of architectural competitions and urban planners' specifications. I firmly believe in the alliance between innovation and quality of life: pollution sensors around schools, smart grids, intelligent lighting, connected shared spaces, and digital tools for analyzing pedestrian traffic.

The smart city should not be a technological showcase; it must become a city for everyday life, designed with the physical and psychological safety of families in mind. A city that works for an 8-year-old child works better for an elderly person, a parent with a stroller, or a person with a disability.

It is therefore a profoundly political and modern project. And I believe that France can be at the forefront in this area if it gives itself the means to do so.

Batinfo: Why is the place of children in public spaces becoming a major political issue in 2026?

Sarah El Haïry: Because the gradual disappearance of children from public spaces reveals a deeper crisis in our urban and social model. When families leave city centers, when children no longer play outside, when school commutes become anxiety-inducing, it says something about our collective relationship to living together. And this is how the "bedroom culture," which we at the High Commission for Children are fighting against, is developing at breakneck speed. This culture consists of banishing children from public spaces and confining them, against their will, to their rooms, with their screens.

In 2026, this issue becomes central as it simultaneously affects demographics, public health, territorial attractiveness and even the economic value of cities.

A city that excludes families becomes a city that ages, becomes socially fragmented, and loses its commercial vitality. Local elected officials are beginning to understand this: families now consider the quality of public spaces, access to schools, active transportation, green spaces, and the adaptability of housing before choosing a place to live. This is a major shift.

We must move beyond urban planning focused solely on cars or immediate land value. A family-friendly city is also an economically successful city. Neighborhoods that offer adaptable housing, local services, and peaceful public spaces see their heritage value increase sustainably. Beyond the issue of children, therefore, lies a strategic reflection on the productive and resilient city of the 21st century.

Batinfo: You raise concerns about a kind of "no kids" mentality. How is this trend manifesting itself today in certain urban spaces or projects? And what are the main factors that make the city anxiety-inducing or poorly adapted to children and families?

Sarah El Haïry: The “no kids” logic is not always explicitly displayed, but it is becoming established in practices and is changing our common culture.

In a Republic like ours, we cannot start sorting people at the entrance of a restaurant, hotel, or public place based on their age or whether they have children. That's called discrimination. And discrimination is punishable by law. Because no, "No Kids" isn't a lifestyle trend. It's a choice that excludes.

And gradually, this logic has extended to the way we think about user comfort and, consequently, spaces.

We see it in hyper-regulated public spaces where anything resembling spontaneous play becomes a nuisance. We also see it in certain real estate developments where family housing is giving way to more profitable and standardized spaces: coworking spaces, premium services, small units designed for more mobile and short-term financially secure populations, in condominium regulations, or even in public spaces hostile to strollers. It's never blatant; it's often a matter of ergonomics.

When you can't get a stroller through a public place, there's certainly no "No Kids" banner, only an insidious but very explicit rule: "families, we don't want you here."

The city becomes anxiety-inducing for families when it imposes complex journeys, when it lacks accessible green spaces, when it produces noise, pollution and road insecurity, or even civic insecurity.

Today, many children grow up in environments saturated with traffic yet lacking in spontaneous social interaction. This is not neutral. Studies show that the urban environment directly impacts children's cognitive development, autonomy, and mental health. We must put use back at the heart of urban planning.

A smart city shouldn't just be dense and connected; it must be emotionally livable. I strongly believe in an urbanism of connection, care, and proximity. France has a role to play in this urbanism of care.

Batinfo: How can we give children more freedom, play and autonomy in their daily movements?

Sarah El Haïry: First, we must accept a simple idea: children's autonomy is an indicator of urban quality.

Today, too many parents believe that letting a child walk to school alone has become impossible. This is also the conclusion of the ADEME's 2025 report, which points out that the average age at which a child walks to school alone has risen to 11, compared to 8 or 9 previously. The climate of insecurity in cities is a major contributing factor, due to a lack of secure infrastructure and properly equipped personnel. Mayors have a crucial role to play in securing public spaces.

But this also reflects a planning problem. To recreate this freedom, it is necessary to act simultaneously on several levers: securing crossings, reducing speeds, clear pedestrian routes, appropriate street furniture, greening and human presence in public spaces.

I also advocate for the development of "school streets" and peaceful neighborhoods around public facilities.

But we need to go further. Smart city tools can enable us to precisely analyze flows, conflict points, and the actual uses of public spaces in order to design safer and more intuitive routes. We also need to rethink housing itself: through-hallways, active ground floors, and shared common areas allow children to rediscover local social connections. Autonomy cannot be decreed; it is built through spatial trust. A city where children can play, move around, and meet is a more humane, more ecological, and more resilient city for the future.

Finally, the economic and climatic constraints of the areas must also be taken into account.

When a child only has a playground near their home, exposed to the blazing sun on asphalt, they will almost certainly abandon it in the summer in favor of a tree. The climate environment must be rethought to allow for infrastructure adapted to current and future changes. The heatwave we just experienced this May is a striking example.

The entire interplay of constraints needs to be rethought to promote appropriate and sustainable use.

Batinfo: Can urban planning become a genuine public health tool for children, with pedestrianization and car-free spaces around schools and public facilities, for example?

Sarah El Haïry: Absolutely. Today, urban planning is a public health policy in its own right.

Air quality, noise exposure, access to physical activity, urban heat, and the quality of green spaces all have direct effects on children's health. Pedestrianizing the areas around schools is not a matter of comfort; it is a public health measure.

We now know that pollution peaks during school drop-off and pick-up times have a real impact on children's respiratory and cognitive abilities. And it's not going to get any better.

The city of tomorrow must therefore incorporate prevention and adaptation strategies. This implies school streets, higher-performance materials, urban heat islands, better-ventilated buildings, and public spaces that encourage movement. Urban technologies can also play a major role: environmental sensors, traffic data, intelligent mobility management, and energy optimization of public facilities.

We must adopt a predictive and protective approach to urban planning. This transformation also creates economic value: a healthier, greener, and better-designed neighborhood attracts families, businesses, and investment in the long term. Environmental health is becoming a key factor in territorial competitiveness.

Batinfo: Do developers, landlords and planners sufficiently take into account the needs of children and families in their projects?

Sarah El Haïry: Things are progressing, but we are still far from where we need to be.

For years, urban development has been influenced by a logic of rapid densification and immediate profitability. The result: housing that is too small and offers little adaptability, undersized common spaces, and neighborhoods sometimes designed without any real family life.

However, expectations are changing dramatically. Families are now looking for adaptable housing, outdoor spaces, local services, functional bicycle storage, and schools within walking distance. Those involved in the construction industry have every reason to integrate this sociological shift.

A home that adapts to the different stages of a family's life is a home that better retains its value. This is a major economic issue. I strongly believe in the development of adaptable housing, capable of evolving according to needs: teleworking, the arrival of a child, aging. This is where architectural and technological innovation becomes essential. Developers who incorporate this user-centric approach will have a considerable strategic advantage. The family-friendly city is also a city of sustainable investment.

Batinfo: How can we prevent families with children from being gradually pushed out of city centers due to a lack of suitable housing?

Sarah El Haïry: This is probably one of the major urban challenges of the coming years.

When families leave city centers, we inevitably produce urban sprawl, more forced commuting, and a growing territorial divide. Beyond the consequences for mental and physical health, this has a major economic and environmental impact.

To avoid this, we need to act on the supply of family housing but also on its quality of use.

Too often, housing developments don't offer enough suitable living spaces or adaptable layouts. We need to encourage more flexible, airy, and soundproofed homes designed for the everyday lives of families. This also means rethinking certain economic models of real estate development. Family-friendliness should become a value-added criterion, not a constraint.

Local authorities can make certain developments conditional on quotas of genuinely functional family housing. I also believe it's essential to develop mixed-use neighborhoods where schools, shops, sports facilities, and green spaces are all within walking distance. Proximity is now a key factor in real estate appeal.

Batinfo: What concrete levers do mayors and local authorities have to build more child-friendly cities?

Sarah El Haïry: Mayors have extremely powerful levers at their disposal.

The first is obviously regulatory urban planning: Local Urban Plans (PLU), development permits, specifications for Urban Development Zones (ZAC), and the programming of public facilities. Local authorities can impose precise criteria regarding the place of families, the quality of pedestrian walkways, green spaces, and housing types.

They can also use public procurement to accelerate innovation: bio-based materials, resilient schoolyards, smart street furniture, optimized energy management.

I also strongly believe in collaborative approaches with children themselves. Children are excellent at identifying urban problems. In Brest, for example, children were consulted in the development of the Local Urban Plan (PLU). This is an effective method for ensuring that their lived experience is utilized.

Finally, mayors can act quickly on how things are used: school streets, speed limits, greening, opening up public facilities, and making journeys safer. A child-friendly city isn't more expensive; it's often more intelligent in its allocation of space. And with the participation of children and vulnerable groups, it avoids the cycle of building and then undoing, of constructing only for elected officials to ultimately say, "Oops, we hadn't thought of that."

And above all, it creates territorial value. Cities that invest in the quality of family life will be the most economically attractive cities in the coming decades.

Batinfo: Should we create indicators or labels for "child-friendly cities"?

Sarah El Haïry: Yes, but only if these labels are demanding, measurable and operational.

We need concrete indicators to objectively assess urban quality from children's perspective. Today, we measure a lot of energy efficiency or density, but very little children's autonomy, the quality of school routes, access to play, or comfort for families.

Tomorrow, a city should be able to be evaluated based on specific criteria: the proportion of safe school routes, access to green spaces, air quality around schools, the proportion of adaptable family housing, the presence of shared spaces, and the level of greening. These types of indicators can become an extremely powerful tool for guiding public and private investment.

Developers themselves are beginning to understand that quality of use is becoming a key factor in property valuation. A credible label also helps accelerate urban innovation. But be careful: it shouldn't be a label for marketing purposes. It needs to be a genuine tool for transforming urban development.

This is the purpose of the "Child-Friendly City" label offered by UNICEF. For each participating city, UNICEF supports elected officials and provides operational toolkits to help implement the theoretical principles of a city accessible to all. This type of label works precisely because it is based on indicators.

Batinfo: In your opinion, what are the most urgent national measures to take to make cities more child-friendly?

Sarah El Haïry: The first priority is to systematically integrate the impact on children into all policies, particularly those related to planning and housing.

Today, this angle remains too peripheral.

We must then massively accelerate the development of school streets and pedestrian-friendly zones around facilities that serve children. I also believe it is essential to provide tax support for the construction of adaptable and scalable family housing.

We must encourage a new generation of housing capable of adapting to changing lifestyles. We must also invest in local infrastructure: schools, sports facilities, cultural venues, and green spaces in the city. Finally, I believe the government must provide much stronger support for urban innovation that benefits families: real-time environmental data, usage simulation tools, smart buildings, and safe, sustainable mobility solutions.

The city at child height is not about nostalgia; it is a project of modernity, and a matter of national survival.

Interview with Sarah El Haïry, High Commissioner for Children (LinkedIn).