by Colin Ward

Exploring the ways in which the experience of a life in the city affects how we grow up

How can the link between city and child be made more fruitful and enjoyable for both the child and the city?

At a time when a significant proportion of the city’s children are at war with their environment, the question raised by this book becomes ever more urgent for teachers and parents, citizens and policy makers. Through an enormously rich range of reference and reminiscence, The Child in the City explores the very feel of growing up in the city. It evokes the great variety of ways in which the city child has used the street in the past and still does today. Rooted in the experience of British cities, it nevertheless gives a world-wide panorama of urban childhood. Ward asks why some children show endless ingenuity in exploiting what the city offers, while others are isolated and predatory.

Two hundred photographs by Ann Golzen and others enhanced the original book.

Reviews

‘The Child in the City tears down walls and brilliantly highlights a culture which extends from Battersea to Bangladesh; the only true international culture, which in our search for “knowledge” we largely ignore. Ward has produced a book which should go into every school, college and home, and also into every factory and office.’ —Times Educational Supplement

‘Weaves many strands of thought together from teachers, sociologists, architects, social workers and many more professions to produce a book as interesting to teachers as it will be to parents.’ —The Teacher

About the author

Colin Ward (1924-2010) edited of the Bulletin of Environmental Education. He served as education officer for the Town and Country Planning Association in London. He held a Leverhulme Fellowship for the interpretation of the built environment. Additionally, Ward led as Director of the Schools’ Council’s ‘Art and the Built Environment’ project. Colin Ward co-authored Streetwork: The Exploding School, and edited many books including Vandalism and British School Buildings. He also authored Tenants Take Over. (synopses adapted from The Anarchist Library)

Publisher: Bedford Square Press
First Published: 1978
This Edition: 1990
Format: Book
Binding: Paperback
Interior: Black & White
Pages: 217
ISBN: 9780719912597