Fostering child-centred approaches to transport research, planning and policy development: a pilot methodology

Abstract

Transport plays a significant role in the lives of children and young people, facilitating or constraining their ability to discharge their domestic responsibilities, providing opportunities for earning an income, supporting or inhibiting the development of social networks, and influencing their health and educational achievements. Yet children and young people receive remarkably little attention in transport policy and planning. Since children constitute over half the population of most developing countries, this is a surprising oversight. Much of our knowledge of children and transport is gleaned from observation and anecdotal evidence. There has been little systematic study of the issues. Children are not seriously considered stakeholders to be consulted in transport-planning activities and their needs are invisible in the decision-making processes of the transport sector. The need to address this oversight cannot be overemphasised. This article presents a pilot methodology and examines some methodological and ethical challenges emanating from a pilot study involving three countries: India, Ghana and South Africa. The approach is intended to ensure that the voices of children and young people as transport stakeholders emerge sufficiently to influence transport research, planning and policies aimed at enhancing their access to socio-economic opportunities.