On September 7th, Lab2PT/IN2PAST doctoral student João Miguel Monteiro da Silva defended his thesis, entitled “Geography(ies) of childhood: (im)mobility and walkability in the (co)construction of Braga as a child-friendly city”, supervised by Professors Ana Francisca de Araújo Rodrigues de Azevedo e Silva, Miguel Sopas Melo Bandeira, and Vítor Patrício Rodrigues Ribeiro.

 

Sustainable mobility, particularly focused on school commutes, has been frequently discussed in current urban agendas, within the paradigm of sustainability. However, despite increasing research on Independent Mobility of Children (IMC), particularly in the social sciences, methods that attempt to assess the quality of the built environment in accessing schools using a combination of objective and subjective/child-perceived data are rarely applied. Adding to this issue is the fact that children continue to be excluded from decision-making processes in urban planning. Thus, this research aimed to address the theme of Geographies of Childhood, through the pedestrian accessibility of children to the 1st Cycle Basic Schools of Braga (classified as a “Child-Friendly City” since 2016) and promoting their participation through collaborative methods.

 

Congratulations to Dr. João Miguel Monteiro da Silva!