Thousands of children join #StreetsforKids in 140 actions across Europe

October 21, 2022
Streets For Kids May 2022 action in Rome, Sergio Gatto

Today, thousands of children across Europe will be taking to the streets to show what cities could look like without the dominance of car traffic. At least 140 separate events in the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium will be organised as part of the coordinated “Streets for Kids” day of action (1).

Streets for Kids aims to show how ‘School Streets’ can transform the areas outside schools, leading to health and climate benefits as a result of reduced polluting traffic. A School Street is an initiative which prioritises walking, cycling and active travel at school drop-off and pick-up times.

The Clean Cities Campaign, which co-ordinates the Europe-wide action, is also today launching research (2) to show that school streets have popular backing. 71% of people polled across 5 European cities supported the introduction of timed restrictions to traffic movements outside schools. Support was highest in Barcelona (76%) and more than 67% in London, Paris and Brussels.

School streets everywhere

School streets are an important element of a zero-emission mobility system, tackling air pollution, providing more space for people and reducing car dependency in cities. There are over 500 in London (3), 170 in Paris and 120 in Barcelona.

They have proved to be effective in reducing air pollution and improving safety in the immediate vicinity of schools. A London study showed how school streets reduced nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23%, and that parents reported driving to school 18% less following the introduction of a school street (4). Another study in Oxford showed a 36% drop in PM2.5 concentrations.

Barbara Stoll, Director of the Clean Cities Campaign said:

“Today, thousands of children across Europe are reclaiming the streets for biking, walking, playing and learning and by doing so they reaffirm their right to clean and breathable air, space to play and safety on their journeys to and from school. School streets are easy to implement and deliver a whole suite of benefits to the health and wellbeing of children through the reduction of polluting traffic. Local decision makers must take notice and close these streets to cars”.

Notes to the editor:

(1) The European Day of Action #StreetsForKids was coordinated by the Clean Cities Campaign, a network of over 60 environmental groups working to push European cities to transition to zero-emission mobility by 2030. For the live list of events on 21 October 2022, visit https://cleancitiescampaign.org/streets-for-kids-oct-2022/

(2) Kantar Public, the organisation behind the ‘Eurobarometer’ surveys for the European Commission, conducted a representative survey in June 2022. One thousand people in 5 cities – Brussels, Barcelona, Paris, London and Warsaw – were asked for their views. The results have been weighted by gender and age to be representative of the polled city’s population.

(3) https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-hails-success-of-schools-streets-programme%23:~:text=There%2520are%2520now%2520511%2520School,being%2520installed%2520almost%2520every%2520month.

(4) https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/school_streets_monitoring_study_march21.pdf

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