ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the participation of children and their communities should be central to the implementation of new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It argues that through their participation in planning and implementation of urban projects and policy at local level, such as those exemplified in the Child Friendly Cities and Growing Up In Cities, children and young people can begin to play a significant role in addressing the challenges of urbanization and sustainability. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child identifies a child's well-being and quality of life as the ultimate indicators of healthy environment, good governance and sustainable development. To support child friendly initiatives, there was an emphasis on designing national indicators and strengthening data collection and monitoring of children, using community-based assessment tools. The aim of the assessment tools was to support ongoing monitoring of action plans and targets over time to be able to show evidence of changes in children's living conditions.
