City Ranking 2025: Streets For Kids, Cities For All
Prioritising children in urban mobility
As cities work toward making urban environments safer, healthier, and more sustainable, it’s clear that child-friendly transport plays an important role in achieving these goals.
We’ve analysed 36 European cities to see how they’re progressing in creating transport systems that prioritise the needs of children.
Key measures like school streets, safe speed limits, and protected cycling infrastructure are central to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of young people. This ranking reveals which cities are leading the way in making their streets safer and more accessible for children, helping to create more liveable environments for everyone.
Keep scrolling to see how your city ranks!
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
premature deaths each year among under-18s in Europe are caused by air pollution.
more likely a pedestrian will die if hit by a car at 50 km/h vs 30 km/h.
children have lost their lives on European roads over the past decade.
OVERALL RESULTS
The table below shows the combined ranking of the 36 cities, based on their performance across all three key indicators.
To explore how cities performed on each individual indicator, scroll down and follow the links to the dedicated tables.
Legend
School streets
Share of primary schools within the city area with permanent or time-based school streets limiting motorised traffic at least during drop-off and pick-up times.
Safe speeds
Score based on the share of the total road network with a maximum speed of 30km/h (20mph).
Protected cycling infrastructure
Score based on the ratio of the length of the cycling infrastructure protected from motorised traffic to total road network length.
Rank
City
Country
Total
score
Grade
School
streets
Safe
speeds
Protected cycling infrastructure
RESULTS BY INDICATOR
Want to dive deeper? Below you’ll find rankings for each of the three indicators that make up the overall score.
“A city that is good for children is good for everyone.”
– Tim Gill, leading researcher on children’s play and mobility
Innovative city projects
In 2024, Bologna became the first major Italian city to introduce a 30 km/h speed limit across a large share of its urban road network.
Backed by Mayor Matteo Lepore, the “Città 30” initiative aimed to cut road deaths, reduce pollution, and make public spaces safer and more welcoming for everyone.
The policy faced strong initial resistance, but just one year in, the results are striking: traffic collisions dropped by 13%, injuries by 11%, and road fatalities by 49%. For the first time since records began, no pedestrians were killed. Bicycle use, carsharing, and public transport have all increased, too.
Paris is rolling out an ambitious School Streets program, aiming to create 300 by 2026. At least a third will include full redesigns with greening elements to improve both safety and livability.
So far, over 230 School Streets have been implemented. Of these, 70 feature extensive green infrastructure, with about 30% of the space dedicated to greenery. These redesigned streets not only reduce traffic and pollution around schools but also enhance the urban environment for the broader community.
The initiative reflects strong political backing and a clear vision: to make streets safer, healthier, and more welcoming for children and residents alike.
In cities across Norway, including Oslo, “Heart Zones” (“Hjertesoner”) are being introduced to make streets around schools safer and less car-dependent. These designated areas prioritise traffic safety and encourage parents not to drive their children to school (measures are often similar to school streets or even include school streets as part of a wider scheme).
Each school designs its own zone based on local needs. Some rely on awareness campaigns, while others add speed bumps, signage, or parent-led traffic patrols. The aim is to create calmer streets that support walking and cycling.
Since the early 2010s, the concept has spread widely. By 2024, 352 schools had established Heart Zones. This number is expected to grow following integration into the Norwegian government’s national strategy for traffic safety.
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Data was gathered through direct engagement with city administrations, publicly available sources, and input from civil society organisations from across the Clean Cities network. We have made every effort to ensure the data is reliable and comparable, and we are committed to addressing any remaining inconsistencies in future updates.