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The socio-physical qualities of built environments are, in several ways, of imperative importance for children growing up. The Child-Friendly Cities initiative by UNICEF, an implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, has made local governments strive toward child-friendliness. The participation of children and young people is often the focus of such projects, with a potential for a far broader scope. Besides participation processes, what important socio-physical qualities make environments child-friendly, and how can they be developed? This paper presents a structured literature review of the concept of child-friendly environments, in order to address the full socio-physical spectrum. The results focus on concrete factors that have been filtered through child-friendliness and the associated frameworks, showing an inherent dependence between the social context and the physical environment. The shaping of child-friendliness hinges on the realization of environments that are safe, fair, and with accessible and variable green and open spaces. A multi-stakeholder endeavor including, e.g., planners, designers, and managers requires clearly outlined priorities. This study lays the groundwork for further exploration of how the concept of child-friendly environments can lead to positive changes, also as part of the overall strive toward sustainable development.

Trees and large shrubs in urban environments provide a wide array of ecosystem services, enhancing the well-being of urban residents. Public trees in Sweden are managed by local governments, but private-owned urban trees, which represent a large proportion of the total urban tree population, are managed by residential property owners. Residential urban trees are generally not included in urban forest management plans at local government level. This study examined property-level characteristics that could lead to better management decisions by property owners on residential trees in Malmö, Sweden. Using spatial sampling, 99 properties were inventoried to determine tree basal area (m2/ha), as a measure of woody plant abundance. In parallel, residents were surveyed about their attitudes to trees, and information on background variables on their properties was collected using through publicly available spatial data. Statistical modelling was used to determine relationships between key socio-ecological variables and tree abundance as well as reasons for planting and removal of trees. The results showed that positively perceived benefits of trees to property owners did not necessarily result in greater tree and shrub abundance on individual properties. Instead, house age and potential plantable space were the variables positively correlated with tree and shrub abundance. Years of residence had a negative correlation with probability of planting. The primary reason for tree removal was improper growing site, which indicates that providing practical information on appropriate site/species selection could reduce the risk of healthy urban tree removal.

Despite the acknowledged importance of outdoor environment quality in supporting children's health and well-being, little is known about how contemporary urban open space management caters for children. In this study, Swedish (n = 54) and Danish (n = 25) local governments were surveyed regarding how they manage urban open space for children, e.g., through a child-centered perspective which might include children's perspectives (participation and governance approaches). The results revealed organizational differences and more active consideration of children as urban open space users in Sweden than in Denmark. A general ambition to increase children's participation was reported, but also associated challenges, including budget limitations and lack of knowledge among managers. More ambitious and child-centered urban open space management units work collaboratively and broadly, through governance processes. This includes going beyond conventional structures and perceptions of what are "places for children" and consider all levels of strategic management (policy, tactical, and operational) in developing child-friendly environments within urban open spaces. The large differences between various management units indicates the importance of individual employees' knowledge and dedication, and the value of exchanging knowledge and experiences.

This paper reports on how Nordic practise relates to, and perceives contemporary challenges to urban open space management. The study used a case study approach, via interviews. The studied Nordic cities experience the effects of densification in inner city areas. This is often resulting in higher pressure on existing urban open spaces, but also generating new spaces which tend to be small and fragmented, not meeting the many wishes and demands asked for by the diverse user groups. While budgets are sufficiently allocated in new development projects, it is a challenge to withstand the maintenance budgets, forcing managers to prioritise. Due to primary political interest in inner city areas, there is a risk of managers not prioritising the more peripheral areas, from where resources are often transferred to the newly developed areas. This creates a new type of urban nature, primarily in the urban peripheral areas, with increased amounts of biodiversity and higher amounts of multi-functionality, compared to the smaller and more intensively programmed inner-city areas. Urban open space managers are relying on the existing municipal planning tools, and to varying degrees act strategically in terms of developing own sector oriented plans and strategies.

Det är uppenbart att det mediala intresset för stadsodling har vuxit påtagligt de senaste åren. En sökning i databasen Retriever visar en ökande användning av begreppet "urban odling" och en starkt ökande användning av ordet "stadsodling". Olika medier påverkar så klart varandra. Radioprogrammet Odla med stadsgrönt började sändas våren 2009. Medier påverkar politiken som i sin tur påverkar medier. Den förste oktober 2009 lämnades motionen "Stadsodling viktig i hållbara städer" in till riksdagen. Såväl media som politik påverkar och påverkas av praktiken. Våren 2009 började projektet Barn i stan odla i stadsdelen Seved i Malmö, ett projekt som uppmärksammats flitigt i media. Samma år började organisationen Stadsjord odla i stadsdelen Högsbo i Göteborg, även det flitigt uppmärksammat i media. Den statliga Delegationen för hållbara städer har beviljat bidrag till åtminstone fyra planeringsprojekt med inriktning mot stadsodling: SLU (sökt 2009), Plantagon (två projekt sökta 2010) samt Falun kommun (sökt 2012). Även investeringsprojekt har haft inslag av stadsodling, till exempel Malmö stads ansökan "Hållbar stadsomvandling Malmö, Fokus Rosengård" ( sökt 2010). Stadsodling finns med som ett inslag i flera aktuella stadsförnyelse- och stadsbyggnadsprojekt. Det har fått fungera som en symbol för kombinationen av ekologisk och social hållbarhet. En viktig fråga att reflektera över är därför hur hållbar stadsodling är. Vad kan vi ha för nytta av stadsodling? Hur kan odling ta plats i städerna? Hur kan vi stadsodla på ett hållbart sätt?