The “Vertical Living Kids” study found significant differences between children aged 8-12 living in private and public high rise housing, in their ability to walk and play outdoors independently, without adult supervision.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor Carolyn Whitzman, who led the VicHealth funded research, says: “Almost two thirds of the journeys taken by children living in public high rise housing were on their own or with other children, compared with less than one in five journeys of children living in private high rises.

“But most of those journeys by kids in public housing were within their immediate community, and they were unhappy with local playgrounds.”

“In contrast, the kids in privately owned high rise housing in Docklands, Southbank, the CBD and St Kilda, used public transport more often and frequented a greater variety of destinations both within and beyond their local communities.”

Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Todd Harper says: “The study was funded to determine how much children living in city high rises are walking and cycling to get around.

“The more children establish a pattern of being active to get around when they are young, the more chance they will set up healthy patterns for life.

“We need to make sure that we encourage children to get out of their armchairs and car seats and on to their bikes or own two feet to avoid preventable diseases like heart disease and cancers later in life,” Mr Harper says.

In total 290 trips over four days were monitored. Forty children and their parents – 18 in public housing and 22 in privately owned properties – participated in the project.

 “There has been a dramatic decrease over the past 30 years in what we call ‘Children’s Independent Mobility’, the ability of children aged 8-12 to explore public spaces without adults.

“Being able to go to school, friends’ houses, parks and shops on their own is vital to kids’ physical and emotional development, their sense of citizenship – of being a valued part of a community and being physically active in day to day activities.”

“The problem is that schools and playgrounds have not been planned into new high rise private residential developments.”

And Associate Professor Whitzman says that state and local planning authorities need to get better at developing specific design guidelines for families in high rise housing, particularly as density increases.

 Developers and planners associated with central Melbourne’s residential redevelopment assumed that children wouldn’t be living in the new apartment buildings, but there are a growing number of ‘vertical living kids’.

“We need to encourage planning authorities to make sure that inner Melbourne shopping areas, parks, and city streets are child friendly, as well as building new schools and playgrounds in our urban centres,” Associate Professor Whitzman says.

You can download the full report at
http://www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/research/pdf/vertical-living-kids.pdf