Organized by Ana Gabriela Godinho Lima and Rodrigo Mindlin Loeb, the work consists of 22 texts and articles by researchers, specialists, and professionals working in the fields of childhood, gender, and territory. Enriched with children’s drawings and photographic records, it unites the distinct voices of architects, urban planners, pedagogues, social workers, psychologists, and many other professionals working at the confluence of these urgent themes.
In Brazil, in territories far from urban centers, there is a noticeable shortening of children’s autonomy and freedom in exploring and experiencing the territory where they live, even in small inland towns. Looking at cities as spaces that promote integral development and advocating for the return of public spaces to children is, therefore, an acknowledgment that the territory has significant impacts on children’s lives.
The Laboratory of Education (Laboratório de Educação) authored a chapter in the section focusing on play and public space. “Every Child Can Learn – Implementation of a pilot project in the municipality of Mauá” is co-authored by Isabel Santana Gervitz, Beatriz Cardoso, and Nicole Paulet Piedra.
Other original texts feature stories from benchmark organizations in these fields—such as Avante, CECIP, the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood, and Instituto Elos—academic research on violence, public space, and territorial segregation, practical research and experimentation in territorial transformation, experiences in encouraging play in public spaces, community involvement, and other topics that bring new perspectives to the practice of architects and urban planners.
The publication was designed to become a reference for training professionals from different areas of knowledge who seek to work in urban territories and promote possibilities for development and empowerment for women and children. The book originated from a 2017 competition held by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, with the innovative proposal of integrating the theme of early childhood into undergraduate and postgraduate architecture and urbanism programs at the City, Gender, and Childhood Research Center of Mackenzie Presbyterian University.
The launch debate took place on April 8 and can be accessed by clicking here.
Technical specifications:
456 pages
15.7 x 22 cm
ISBN: 978-65-872005-02-1
Edition: Romano Guerra Editora and Pistache Editorial, 2022
For those wishing to purchase it, the book is on sale on the websites of Pistache Editorial and the publisher Romano Guerra.
*image credit: “Parelheiros”, Rodrigo Mindlin Loeb.