HomeKnowledge LibraryHow Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide
HomeKnowledge LibraryHow Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide

How Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide

This toolkit offers a step-by-step guide to build your own reverse periscope and see the city from 95cm.

When you’re just 95cm tall, navigating the streets is different. Like any kind of infrastructure, kids experience streets differently than adults and have unique needs when it comes to safety and access. The reverse periscope from Global Designing Cities Initiative was designed as an easy-to-build and affordable do-it-yourself tool, so all you need is cardboard, mirrors, glue, and this guide.

It helps adults better understand the sightlines, hazards and uncertainties, as well as the unique and surprising aspects of navigating a world built for people twice as tall as you. With this guide, you can now walk in kids’ shoes and see the streets through their eyes.

Using the periscope could be a great conversation starter to discuss the importance of planning for young children and their caregivers and the key mobility challenges they face.


The guide was produced as part of Global Designing Cities Initiative Streets for Kids, which is supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Foundation Botnar, and FIA Foundation.

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