In 2019, the Municipality of Porto was recognised as a Child-Friendly City. This certification, pro- moted and monitored by UNICEF since 2015, seeks to promote conditions of access to goods and resources that promote children’s quality of life, while seeking to integrate their contributions into the definition of city policies. A fundamental part of this work involves improving mobility by expanding the network of bike lanes, offering public transport and improving conditions for pedestrians. Another is the maintenance and expansion of outdoor play areas for the young.

Although many of these interventions have been carried out in recent years in Porto, little or nothing has changed in terms of the autonomy given to the city’s children. The vast majority go to school by car. Playgrounds and recreational areas are restricted and fenced off.

Meanwhile, in Porto and in other cities around the world, citizen initiatives are trying to change attitudes and preconceptions about the agency of young people in their cities. The book If This Street Were Mine, presented here, is a direct result of this citizen advocacy. It imagines a city in which children’s mobility is encouraged, transforming the way everyone enjoys it.

This talk with Peter Füssy, Ana Cristina Fernandes and Daniel Casas Valle invites us to change perspective by centering children as the main agents in the design of a different city – that is better for them and fundamentally better for everyone.