The Impact of Urbanization on the Child’s Right to Play

Abstract

Urban regions around the world have undergone dramatic social and economic changes over the past few decades. These changes have had, and continue to have, a profound impact on the way people are living their lives including how children are being raised and the priorities accorded in rearing children and measures used to judge children’s well-being. Changes in urban lifestyles have seemingly influenced an attitudinal shift towards children’s play and their recreation and leisure activities. Unfortunately, the child’s right to "play" is not being given adequate priority by communities, governments and other social institutions around the globe. This paper discusses the impact of recent trends in urbanization on policies and attitudes to children’s play and examines some of the key factors that may be contributing to a contemporary undervaluing of children’s play and their relaxation.

Keywords: children, rights, play, urbanisation

JEL Classification: K10, K30