IMAGINE A PARK made out of candy, with bridges featuring water cannons that shoot water onto kayakers below. Imagine huge climbing walls from which you can jump onto giant trampolines, or a place that allows you to skydive into your neighbourhood park. Imagine a treetop library with beanbags all around the grass below so that you can sit and read outside.

Are these children’s dreams, a cartoon-like fantasy – or aspects of a utopia that could serve our entire society better? Could children’s imaginations point us towards a vision that could serve everyone well, assisting the design of more thoughtful and natural spaces that we can all enjoy more? According to Mara Mintzer, an advocate for child-friendly cities, it’s the latter. A city that accommodates for children – and I’m using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child definition of ‘children’ here as anyone under eighteen – is one that becomes more inclusive for all citizens, especially the elderly and those with disabilities.