ABSTRACT
The headline of a recent Sydney Morning Herald news story referred to "Sydney's own Manhattan project". The reporter identified nineteen office blocks in the central business district (CBD) scheduled for conversion to high-density residential in the next couple of years. Growing Up In Cities project tracked the lived experiences of children in nine communities of four countries, including Australia, where the project was based in the Melbourne suburb of Braybrook. Roger Hart's eight-step ladder of children's participation, based on Arnstein's familiar ladder of participation, considers that at the highest form of implementation, participation is child-initiated and directed with decisions shared with adults. At the state level, both Victoria and Western Australia have been active in promoting children's participation through their child friendly cities initiatives. Of all the built environment-related professional organizations, the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) has embraced the concept of Child Friendly Cities and children's participation most explicitly.
