Limited parks and playgrounds threaten kids’ physical and mental health

As cities expand and high-rise buildings replace open areas, children’s health is increasingly at risk.

In Kenya and worldwide, diseases such as obesity are rising, yet many schools and homes lack safe spaces for children to play.

In response, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and UN-Habitat are urging city planners and governments to put children at the centre of urban design.

Their latest global guide stresses that streets, parks, and playgrounds are essential for children’s physical, mental, and social development.

Globally, only 44 per cent of urban residents live near open spaces—a figure that drops to 30 per cent in low- and middle-income countries.

Limited access to outdoor areas is a key factor driving rising obesity, with over 390 million children and adolescents now overweight or obese. For the first time in a decade, overweight children have outnumbered those who are malnourished.

The guide calls on cities to create safer, more inclusive public spaces that promote physical activity, equity, and healthier urban living.

It provides practical, evidence-based recommendations for governments, city planners, and partners. Drawing on global evidence, expert consultations, and input from children themselves, it highlights six core principles: safety, play, access, child health, equity, and sustainability.

“Access to safe, inclusive public space is directly linked to children’s health, development, learning, and social ties and is a child’s right,” notes Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department for Health Determinants, Promotion, and Prevention.

Recommended actions include creating safer streets and routes to schools, embedding play opportunities across public spaces, prioritising access in underserved communities, ensuring clean and climate-resilient environments, promoting inclusion for all children, and integrating green and blue infrastructure into urban planning.

With more than 55 per cent of the world’s population living in urban areas—a proportion expected to rise to 68 per cent by 2050—the choices cities make today will shape children’s health and well-being for generations.

In Nairobi, the City County Public Space Inventory and Assessment Report released by UN-Habitat Kenya in September 2020 recorded approximately 826 public open spaces covering around 3,106 hectares.

These included 99 playgrounds, 51 sports fields, 15 parks, and 19 gardens, alongside other areas for recreation and community use. However, as of 2026, many of these spaces have been encroached upon, suggesting a decline in availability.

Major parks include Uhuru/Central Park, Jamhuri Park, City Park, the Arboretum, Kamukunji Grounds, Jeevanjee Gardens, Karura Forest, and Ngong Road Forest. Yet many spaces remain small, unevenly distributed, poorly maintained, or threatened by development, limiting access for children in numerous neighbourhoods.

Schools face similar challenges. A 2023 survey by Usawa Agenda found that only 79 per cent of schools in Kenya have playgrounds, leaving 21 per cent without proper play areas. In urban areas, particularly informal settlements, space is even more limited.

Many private schools operate within cramped compounds with no room for dedicated playgrounds, relying instead on rented fields or shared community spaces.

Early childhood centres also struggle to provide outdoor play due to congestion and land shortages. These gaps mean a significant number of Nairobi’s children lack safe, adequate spaces for physical activity, raising serious concerns for their physical and mental health.

Health implications of limited play

The lack of safe play spaces has clear health consequences. Less active children are more likely to develop obesity, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other non-communicable diseases later in life.

Physical inactivity also weakens muscles and bones, reduces fitness, and can contribute to poor mental health, including anxiety and depression.

Globally, 81 per cent of adolescents aged 11–17 do not meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. In Kenya, only 12.6 per cent of children achieve recommended activity levels. Combined with poor diets, these trends are driving rising rates of childhood overweight, obesity, and early signs of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

Childhood obesity significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, a condition once rare in young people but now increasingly common among adolescents due to rising obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

Although Kenya lacks comprehensive national statistics on diabetes in children, the well-established link between overweight and insulin resistance suggests that growing obesity among youth will likely lead to higher rates of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other non-communicable diseases later in life.

Global and regional studies consistently show that overweight children are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at a younger age compared to children of healthy weight, a trend increasingly evident across sub-Saharan Africa.

Addressing these challenges requires child-centred urban planning. By redesigning streets, parks, and public spaces to be safe, inclusive, and accessible, cities like Nairobi can ensure that children have the right to play, move, and thrive.

Investing in well-designed public spaces not only improves children’s health and development but also strengthens social ties, promotes equity, and fosters more resilient, livable cities.

The Nairobi County Government has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding children’s playgrounds, parks, and green spaces from further encroachment.

Officials have publicly backed initiatives aimed at preserving these areas as part of the city’s broader vision to maintain Nairobi as a green and child-friendly urban environment.