The selection of schools to be included in 2023 was made on the basis of a comprehensive traffic mapping (tracking of morning rush hour and normal daily traffic at all entrances to primary schools, note) and socio-spatial analysis (mapping of surfaces, passageways, staircases, ramps, playgrounds, sports fields, parking areas, width of sidewalks in the vicinity of schools, note) of 25 primary schools in the territory of Bratislava.
We then selected the final ten schools by weighing other criteria such as the implementation of a parking policy in the zone in 2023, the population density within a 500-metre radius of the school, the current state of the public space around the school, the number of Ukrainian children at the school, the percentage of children with special educational needs, and others. We also tried to distribute resources over as wide an area as possible.
What is participation?
Participation, i.e. involving the public, is one of the key moments of the whole City for Children project. The project currently operates in and around primary schools as the natural community centres of each neighbourhood.
Public involvement is implemented in the form of several activities. The actors involved include the children themselves, in addition to the parents of the children attending the primary schools, the residents of the neighbourhood, and the staff of the schools. On the basis of such broad-based participation, we are able to better reflect the needs of all actors in the neighbourhood and thus make better and more informed decisions.
Participation towards children also has a strong educational character in the form of activities aimed at improving and improving the quality of public spaces, as well as towards traffic education, which in many cases is absent in schools. Nor does it neglect to sensitise children to the needs of other users of the street and public space.