In parks and playgrounds around the world, youth run, swing and laugh. Younger children play freely, and teen boys dominate fields and courts. But where are the adolescent girls?

Play is a powerful platform for children and youth to explore their interests, from science and sports to design and civic engagement, shaping their long-term health, hobbies and potential careers. But play areas are typically designed either for children under eight or as football fields for boys.

Meanwhile, the needs of girls between the ages of 11 and 17 — such as spaces to swing, stroll, or sit and chat on benches — are frequently overlooked. A 2019 World Health Organization-led study suggests that 85% of school-going adolescent girls worldwide fail to meet the minimum recommended hour of daily physical activity.

To mark the International Day of Play on June 11, local governments could take a step toward more inclusive cities by convening adolescent girls in their cities to gather ideas on how to design spaces that truly support their growth and rights.

Play and planning

In the U.K., more than one million teenage girls who once considered themselves “sporty” disengage from sport after primary school. Reasons include fear of judgment (68%), lack of confidence (61%), school pressures (47%) and not feeling safe outside (43%). These issues underscore the urgent need for gender-sensitive urban planning and recreation policies.

Cities have historically been planned by men, primarily for men, with adolescent girls rarely consulted and their needs overlooked. This has resulted in gender-blind urban design. With little or no convergence between agencies, interventions are often fragmented and reactive rather than concerted and sustainable. There is limited awareness of children’s rights within urban planning systems.

Play and recreation are fundamental rights under Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children, and the UNCRC’s General Comment No. 17 reinforces this right, urging states to take action. UNICEF’s guidelines on child-responsive urban planning emphasize five core benefits for children: health, safety, citizenship, environment, and prosperity – yet these are often missing in city design.

Safety concerns, social norms, over-surveillance and stigma exclude adolescent girls from public spaces. UNCRC General Comment No. 17 highlights barriers such as domestic duties, cultural expectations, safety concerns, and lack of suitable spaces that restrict girls’ play under Article 31. Gender stereotypes confine girls to home roles while boys engage publicly, limiting girls’ physical activity, despite its benefits.

Access to safe public spaces remains a global challenge. According to UN-Habitat’s 2022 Her City report, nine out of 10 women report feeling unsafe in public spaces, and globally, 30% of women aged 15 and older have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives.

‘I helped with that!’

To foster inclusive and safe public spaces, cities must ensure safer streets and accessible open spaces like parks and playgrounds — working with adolescent girls to meet their needs. And it can be done, as shown by two parks in Bath, England, and Vienna, Austria.

In March, Brickfields Park in Bath was redesigned to prioritize the needs of teenage girls, led by Your Parks Bristol and Bath in collaboration with Make Space for Girls. Research indicated that while boys predominantly used sports facilities, only 10% of basketball court users were girls, and none utilized the football pitches. Girls expressed a preference for social, inclusive spaces over traditional sports areas.

Through community consultations, including input from Hayesfield Girls’ School, the project culminated in a £75,000 redesign. Enhancements included a five-way swing, accessible entrances, tree trunk seating, somersault bars, and a figure-eight bench. To improve safety, sightlines were enhanced by reducing hedgerow heights. One local teen, Martha, shared her enthusiasm: “It’s been great to connect with the community and the park, and it’s amazing to be able to say, ‘I helped with that!’”

Vienna’s Einsiedler Park offers another example of gender-sensitive urban planning redesigned to better include girls. Recognizing that girls over the age of 10 used the park less frequently, the city undertook a redesign in 1999 to better meet their needs. The planning office Tilia introduced multi-purpose sports fields, a paved skating area and secluded seating to accommodate diverse interests. Enhanced lighting, wider paths and park watch programs improved safety, while neutral sub-zones encouraged creative play and made the space more inviting. This intersectional approach, prioritizing safety and accessibility, helps ensure public spaces are equitable and inclusive for girls and other marginalized groups.

Cities must create a conducive environment that enables girls to contribute meaningfully to urban development and the achievement of the sustainable development principle of “leave no one behind,” in line with the directives of General Comment No. 17.

Participatory processes should empower girls as young urban planners who understand their role as stakeholders in shaping their cities. However, these efforts must be supported by effective planning and governance systems involving all responsible stakeholders: duty bearers, elected representatives, NGOs, child support organizations, the private sector, philanthropy and communities.

When girls are aware of their rights and the conditions of their neighborhoods, they can initiate change toward a more inclusive urban environment. Their engagement not only makes public spaces safer and more accessible, it also brings them into direct contact with urban local bodies and other decision-makers — ensuring their voices are heard and valued.

This post was originally published on Next City.