On Behalf Of Roland Sapsford

Hi Eric and others

You may be aware that Daniel Appleyard (of famed mapping of the impact
of traffic volume on home space in the early 80s) has recently turned
his hand to having children do the very thing you suggest at the end -
child centred mapping around journeys - especially to an from school. I
am very sorry that when I upgraded my computer I lost the link to this
work. If anyone else can point this again I'd be very grateful!

In New Zealand at least, the whole area of children's independent
mobility is only now getting a sliver of recognition as a positive
reason for promoting 'active modes' as they are known here. However the
main focus remains on more direct health issues. Road safety education
still works largely on children rather than through traffic calming etc
and this is a barrier to more independent mobility.

Best wishes
Roland Sapsford
Wellington, New Zealand

Eric Britton wrote:
> Dave, Roland, Anzir, Simon, Martin:
>
> I am absolutely delighted to have these different vies and wise
> expressions of support for the 'walk to school' (might also be cycle
> or skating but what is important is that the kids get there under
> their own steam and safely). In fact, the concept of this walk is one
> of the central pillars of the New Mobility Agenda -- to the extent
> that it is almost impossible to consider that the Agenda is in place
> unless this is the main means of getting to school each day. It is so
> very important for reasons of health and the child's social and
> psychological development, that its role in the community must be seen

> as a fundamental underlying target of transport and school policy.
>
> A decade ago we opened up a parallel focus program under the Agenda
> somewhat awkwardly entitled "_Children on the Move! _Small Steps to
> Sustainable Lives" -- our intention being to develop a lively forum
> and group project to zero in on these are related child/transport
> issues, a very rich and important sub-set of our overall mandate here.

> Unfortunately I never found the key to make it work, more than
> anything else a matter of limited time and resources here in this all
> too finite world. If you go to
> http://ecoplan.org/children/ch_index.htm you can see the shards of
> that earlier attempt, which we could still do some interesting and
> useful things with if anyone wished to get in and give it a go.
>
> To give you a feel for the extent to which this is far from a moribund

> subject, I can suggest that you click the "Small steps news" on the
> top[ menu. It's a bit of a jungle but nonetheless offers ample food
> for thought.
>
> A great place to sharpen your tools on this is the **International
> Walk to School website ****at** http://www.iwalktoschool.org/, and the

> UK site at http://www.walktoschool.org.uk/ are golden resources for
this.
>
> One aspect possibly worth mentioning is our belief that children can
> and should themselves get directly, actively involved in the process
> of mapping and understanding the transport dimensions of their lives.
> And in the process take their first steps toward becoming better
> informed and more responsible as active citizens. It is never too
> early to start.
>
> It would be great if we could find out how to be useful, helpful in
> all this. Your good letters underline the importance of all this.
>
> Eric Britton
>




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