Promoting early childhood development through built environment transformations: lessons from the safe route project in Lima, Peru

Abstract

ABSTRACT Early childhood development is crucial for children’s growth and long-term outcomes. In Peru, the government has made investments in education and health, aiming to support child development programs. However, more work is needed in other areas to ensure all children can thrive. This paper explores the potential of interventions in the built environment as a relatively unexplored area that could benefit child’s development. We present the implementation of the ‘Safe Route to the “Mercedarias” daycare’ project as a successful experience for promoting child-friendly cities. The project involved collaboration among mid-level officers and frontline workers within a large municipality’s organizational structure. The strategies we used allowed us to build a working group willing to collaborate on further projects. The process was successful without requiring additional expenses beyond regular costs. Officers that had never been involved before felt engaged with the initiative while testimonies from caregivers indicated positive outputs. The case study could serve as an example to other cities of a successful model for promoting early childhood development in cities by engaging stakeholders at all levels in the identification of challenges faced by young children and caregivers while underscoring the importance of investing in urban environment interventions for improving children’s growth.