We created this innovation because we recognized a critical urban paradox in the Global South: Every Child deserves a childhood, yet rapid urbanization and traffic congestion were systematically denying millions of children their fundamental right to play (UN CRC, Article 31).
Our core motivation was to directly address the resultant stifling of children's social, emotional, and cognitive development. By creating aProCh, we sought to shift the public narrative and city planning to view children not as passive recipients, but as Protagonists in every Child (the meaning of aProCh).
Crucially, children have been the driving force and constant co-creators of this initiative since its inception. They weren't just the beneficiaries; they were the original consultants. From the very start, children were included in brainstorming what a "Child-Friendly City" meant to them and how to reclaim public spaces. To this day, children lead the design and execution of the programs, determining activities, providing crucial feedback that inspires format changes (honouring their voice and choice), and fostering a true sense of ownership over their city spaces. This deeply participatory model ensures the innovation remains relevant and empowers them as active, socially conscious citizens.
Our innovation is a vibrant, collaborative, and repeatable set of interventions that effectively reclaims public spaces for children.
The Flagship: Street Smart/Happy Street - In practice, our flagship "Street Smart" looks like a busy city street in Ahmedabad, India, being temporarily closed to vehicular traffic—often on a Sunday morning. This transformation turns the asphalt into a vast, safe, and inclusive public playground.
• Children engage in:
o Creative Expression & Physical Activities
o Peer-to-Peer Assimilation: Children from diverse social and economic backgrounds play together, directly promoting social equality and cooperation.
Other Key Interventions
• Parents of the Park: This initiative transforms local green spaces into inclusive environments for bi-weekly creative exploration and learning. It highlights the importance of green spaces and urban ecology.
• City on Cycles: To provide opportunities and inspire children towards a healthy, greener lifestyle, advocating for better cycling infrastructure.
• City as my Landscape: This program empowers children to conduct city-level surveys and lead small change projects, fostering a sense of ownership and making them active agents in city planning.
The innovation is powered by a network of over 400 partners, including local NGOs, schools, corporates, and citizen volunteers. This collaborative, participatory model ensures the programs are inclusive, community-owned, and easily replicable across geographical border.
Our innovation has spread both geographically and organizationally through a highly replicable, low-cost model powered by community ownership and strong partnerships.
Geographic and Organizational Spread
We have successfully spread our model beyond Ahmedabad to 13 cities across India and internationally to Bangladesh. This geographic expansion is due to the inherent flexibility and adaptability of our initiatives, which are meticulously documented with working templates (in written and video formats) that allow other cities and schools to "leapfrog into implementation" with minimal developmental effort.
The viral spread of aProCh is driven by three core tenets:
1, Inclusion and Community Ownership: The model is not driven by large finances, but by the spirit and contribution of the community.
2. Collaborative Partnership (SDG 17): Our approach creates a win-win for all stakeholders. We partner with over 400 entities, including 80 local NGOs, 200 schools, and municipal authorities.
3. Alignment with Global Goals: Our proven alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 10, 11, 16, 17) has been a significant catalyst. The idea of child-friendly cities, as proven by aProCh, has been officially included in state Municipality policy under the Smart City Mission, providing an institutional endorsement that facilitates broader acceptance and adoption by urban authorities.
We are committed to the principle that children should drive the change, so our innovation is continuously adapted based on feedback, shifting urban needs, and opportunities for deeper community impact.
We have continually modified our approach to maximize its impact on societal change:
From Activities to Empowerment: We refined our process to ensure all activities are deeply participatory and child-led. Children are not just attendees; they now actively lead the design and execution of the events, fostering genuine ownership and developing leadership skills.
Systematic Documentation and Replication: We systematically documented every initiative (in written and video formats) to ensure the model's high replicability. This modification allows other cities and organizations to adopt our model with concerted but much less developmental effort, successfully scaling the movement for child-friendly cities across borders.
These modifications ensure aProCh remains relevant, child-centered, and a powerful catalyst for urban and social change.
If you want to try the aProCh model, the beauty of the innovation is its high replicability and community-driven approach. You can start immediately by utilizing our documented resources and forming a local collaborative network.
Here is what you should do:
1. Form Your Collaborative Core
The first step is to gather your local stakeholders. Since aProCh is fundamentally collaborative, you'll need:
A Champion: An enthusiastic individual or small local NGO to anchor the initiative.
Community Partners: Reach out to local schools, citizen groups, and volunteers.
Civic Partners: Crucially, secure buy-in from your Municipal Corporation and Traffic Police—this is non-negotiable for the "Street Smart" model.
2. Utilize the aProCh Toolkits 🛠️
To implement any of our initiatives, you don't need to start from scratch. We have systematically documented and created replicable toolkits for each program, available on the aProCh website (www.aproch.org)
These resources allow you to leapfrog into implementation with concerted but much less developmental effort.
3. Start Small and Scale Up - We advise starting with a pilot project in a controlled environment, using the available documentation. E.g, begin with a "Parents of the Park" to build local confidence and partnerships. Once your core group is trained and local authorities are on board, you can scale up to "Happy Street" street closure model. The key is to maintain the spirit of inclusion & child-led participation throughout.
