The Role of City Planners in Building Family-Friendly Communities

It is no secret that young professionals flock to cities, but is it at the expense of families with young children? Out of 61 municipalities that had a population of 300,000 or more in 2010, the share of children under 18 in each of the bottom ten cities (ranging from San Francisco to Minneapolis) was less than or equal to 20 percent. This may hurt cities overall as research suggests that communities that retain families with young children and support the needs of the “procreative” class report higher economic growth. So how can planners help create more family-friendly communities?

Mildred Warner and Joseph Rukus, in their recent paper “Planners’ Role in Creating Family-Friendly Communities: Action, Participation and Resistance,” explore how planners’ attitudes and family participation in the planning process can translate into concrete action, specifically in the creation of urban environments that are more conducive to child welfare and development. Warner and Rukus find that site planning and zoning are the most important determinants of the creation of more family-friendly communities, which are broadly defined as communities where families enjoy features that promote well-being, such as access to affordable child care and quality public schools. Family participation—holding public meetings at convenient locations and times for working families and encouraging youth participation—is found to be the next most important variable. Warner and Rukus also find a positive correlation between population and action; the largest cities seem to do the most to promote family-friendly communities. On the other hand, lack of awareness on the part of urban planners is the most important contributor to resistance toward family-friendly planning.

The authors use a 2008 American Planning Association survey to explore planners’ attitudes toward creating more family-friendly cities. The survey focuses on three main categories. The first set of questions is centered on planners’ attitudes towards family-friendly communities, the second set of questions gauges planners’ concrete actions in promoting family-friendly planning, and the third set of questions focuses on obstacles to the creation of family-friendly communities. The web-based survey contained over 100 questions grouped into seven broad thematic categories, which Warner and Rukus use to develop indices for the two dependent variables (action on the ground and active resistance) and the independent variables of interest (family participation, attitudes, ignorance or lack of awareness, and site planning and zoning).

The regression results of the authors’ analysis reveal that site planning and zoning contribute the most to action on the ground, followed by family participation. The results also suggest that mid-sized cities with a population of 10,000-50,000 are less likely than their larger counterparts to engage in action. Warner and Rukus find that lack of awareness—in the form of a lack of financial support and lack of a voice for young families—about how to address family needs is the most important variable in the resistance model. Communities that engage in more actions to promote family-friendly communities face increased resistance stemming from a lack of awareness, while positive attitudes about families with children reduce resistance.

While much attention has been paid in recent years to the provision of services and amenities for young professionals, the authors argue that families with young children have often been overlooked. This is despite reports of higher economic growth in communities that support the needs of the procreative class and retain residents for the whole life cycle. Warner and Rukus posit that planners should continue to conduct site planning and zoning, encourage family participation, and help improve awareness of how to address family needs across American communities. The authors’ analysis suggests that addressing the needs of families is well within planners’ capacities and doing so may be essential to maintaining the economic vitality and vibrancy of American cities.

Article Source: Mildred Warner and Joseph Rukus, “Planners’ Role in Creating Family-Friendly Communities: Action, Participation and Resistance,” Journal of Urban Affairs 35 (April 2013): 627-44.

Feature Photo: cc/(Brenda Schwartz)