Cities for Children

by Barlett, Sherican

• ISBN13: 9781853834707
• ISBN10: 185383470X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Twelve million children under the age of 5 still die every year, most of them from preventable causes. Hundreds of millions live in appalling conditions, have to little to eat and little chance of effective treatment when they are ill or injured. Over a million children each year are forced into prostitution, and many more work in hazardous and exhausting conditions. This book deals with just a part of children's global predicament - it focuses on the everyday situation of the growing number of children who live in poverty in the cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is aim at guiding local authorities in fulfilling their responsibilities towards their children.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction	ix
Part One Understanding Children's Rights and Development
The Convention on the Rights of the Child	4	(14)
A brief history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child	5	(1)
The provisions of the Convention	6	(4)
Some questions raised by the Convention	10	(5)
The obligations created by the Convention for local and urban government	15	(3)
Children's Development	18	(18)
The significance of supportive environments for children's development	19	(7)
The developmental experience and requirements of children at different ages	26	(6)
Children who face special developmental challenges	32	(4)
Stable Families	36	(24)
Changing social realities	37	(4)
Adequate and secure housing	41	(6)
Basic municipal services	47	(5)
Other critical supports	52	(8)
Part Two Working for Urban Children's Rights
Prenatal and Birth Environments	60	(8)
The intrauterine environment of the child	61	(1)
Environments of childbirth	62	(4)
Follow-up after birth	66	(1)
The larger context	66	(2)
Housing for Children	68	(25)
The significance of the dwelling for children's development	69	(1)
Working towards homes that support children's rights	70	(17)
Residential care for children	87	(6)
Community Health	93	(28)
The health problems of the urban poor	94	(2)
Assessment and analysis	96	(1)
Creating healthy and livable neighbourhoods	96	(4)
The provision of comprehensive, integrated health services	100	(11)
Adequate nutrition for all	111	(4)
Health care education	115	(2)
The special needs of adolescents and older children	117	(4)
Neighbourhoods for Children	121	(31)
How supportive communities affect children's development	122	(2)
Community insecurity and social fears	124	(9)
Responding to traffic	133	(1)
Opportunities for play and recreation	134	(8)
Children's positive involvement in the community	142	(9)
Moving beyond the local community	151	(1)
Child Care	152	(12)
The role of local authorities	153	(4)
Some models for child care provision and support for early child development	157	(7)
Schools	164	(24)
The role of local authorities in fostering school-community links	165	(2)
Making education truly universal	167	(3)
Education that promotes children's rights	170	(5)
Schools and health	175	(2)
The Physical Environment of schools	177	(5)
Access to information: libraries and resource centres	182	(1)
Teacher resource centres	183	(1)
Secondary schools	184	(2)
Non-formal education	186	(2)
Working children	188	(24)
The implications of work for children's development	189	(2)
The challenges facing local authorities and their partners	191	(1)
Creating a framework for action	192	(4)
Making constructive use of laws and regulations	196	(4)
Finding practical alternatives for children and their families	200	(6)
Supporting children in the workplace	206	(6)
Street-based Children	212	(13)
The responsibilities of local authorities and their partners	214	(2)
Supports for children and adolescents on the street	216	(9)
Juvenile Justice	225	(11)
The role of local authorities	226	(1)
Common violations of the rights of children in conflict with the law	226	(2)
Some basic principles and models for action	228	(8)
Part Three Governance for Children's Rights
The Context of Local Government	236	(12)
The relationship of local government to community governance	237	(2)
The relationship of local government to the national level	239	(1)
The global context	240	(4)
The challenges facing local governments	244	(4)
Practical Implications for Local Government	248	(25)
Institutionalizing the Convention for sustained action	249	(2)
Raising awareness of children and their rights at every level	251	(2)
Improving the quality of information and communication	253	(3)
Effective government structures and processes	256	(5)
Supporting community action and building citizenship	261	(6)
Monitoring, evaluation and enforcement	267	(2)
Working with other municipalities to affect national policy	269	(2)
Participatory democracy - the basis for children's rights	271	(2)
Resources	273	(13)
Bibliography	286	(12)
Index	298