South by Southwest is a conference and music festival that brings together experts from diverse backgrounds to foster innovation. Our friends at the FIA Foundation have applied to speak at the event. The proposed presentation is about the importance of safe, sustainable, child-friendly cities, reflecting the global work of our Child Health Initiative. We call on our youth network to log in and vote for the initiative.
Kids Before Cars: Safe, Sustainable Urbanization
Safe, healthy cities start with safe, healthy streets. In an increasingly urbanized and motorized world, prioritizing people over cars, and children over high speeds saves lives and money. Cities that are safe for children are safe for everyone – but right now road traffic injuries are the leading killer of adolescents worldwide. Unsafe roads prevent access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities that can lift families out poverty. The health, economic, and social consequences are dire. Roads are the veins through which the health of our society flows, but we are clogging them with traffic jams.
It does not have to be this way. We can achieve a world with zero road fatalities, creating safe and healthy journeys for all children through data driven, cost-effective choices.
Takeaways from the event
- Starting with children is not only a proven, practical, apolitical way to make cities safe for everyone, but it is also a moral imperative.
- Road traffic injuries are the leading killer of adolescents around the world, a public health epidemic with far reaching consequences.
- Managing speeds through simple, cost-effective measures serves as a ‘vaccination’ against child road traffic injuries and fatalities.