Belfast Healthy Cities brought together policymakers, health professionals, educators, and young people at a special round table event in Stormont’s Long Gallery on Tuesday 11 November, to discuss how cities can be designed to better support the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
The event, titled “Designing Healthier Spaces for Children”, highlighted the importance of creating environments that enable children to live, learn, and play safely, while encouraging the inclusion of children’s voices in planning and policy decisions.
The event was hosted by broadcaster Frank Mitchell and opened with remarks from Robbie Butler MLA, Chris Quinn, Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, and Dolores Palmer, Department of Health and Belfast Healthy Cities Board Member.
Exploring Healthy Design for Young People
The session featured contributions from experts across public health, design, and academia, including:
Dr Yakup Gozderesi, Paediatric Resident and Youth Ambassador, WHO Euro Healthy Cities Advisory Board, who spoke about “The Voices of Children and Youth in Decision Making” and the importance of youth participation in shaping healthier urban environments.
Dr James Hennessy, Paul Hogarth Company, who presented on “Designing Places for Children and Young People” discussing guidelines for child centred planning, design and stewardship.
Dr Niamh O’Kane, Queen’s University Belfast and Groundswell Consortium, who discussed the recent delivery of the “Healthy Places, Healthy Children”, teaching resource, detailing the impact of the delivery had on the children and their schools.
A highlight of the morning came when pupils from Knockmore Primary School and Holy Cross Primary School presented their Healthy Places, Healthy Children School Charters – a series of pledges written by children, for children, outlining their right to safe, green, and healthy school environments.
Their ideas included planting more trees, creating anti-dog fouling campaigns, reducing traffic around schools, and developing outdoor play and learning spaces.
Championing Children’s Voices
The Healthy Places, Healthy Children resource, developed by Belfast Healthy Cities and mapped to the Northern Ireland curriculum, allows teachers to help pupils understand how the built environment affects health and wellbeing. Using lesson plans and local walk assessments, children learn to assess their surroundings and suggest practical improvements, fostering a sense of ownership and connection to their community.
Through recent delivery of the resource, ten primary schools across Greater Belfast and Lisburn have engaged with the programme, producing innovative project proposals to make their environments healthier and more sustainable.
Looking Ahead
Closing the event, Charlene Brooks, CEO of Belfast Healthy Cities, emphasised the need to embed children’s perspectives into future planning and policy:
“If we want to build a city that works for everyone, we need to start by listening to our youngest citizens. Their insights are powerful, they understand the importance of safety, green space, and belonging. The challenge for us now is to ensure that their voices are heard in how we design and plan Belfast’s future.”
Access the Delivering Change 2025 Update here.
And the QUB, GroundsWell, ‘Healthy Places, Healthy Children’ Impact Report can be found here.
The round table concluded with an engaging discussion among participants, including local MLAs and decision makers, about how to integrate child-friendly and inclusive design principles into urban planning, ensuring that every child has access to healthy, safe, and inspiring places to grow up.
