Safe and Healthy School Environments Reach the Spanish Congress of Deputies

Today, the people and organisations that make up the Mobility and Childhood Seminar have a reason to celebrate: the Road Safety Commission of the Spanish Congress of Deputies has approved a motion aimed at achieving safer school environments that promote sustainable mobility and healthy lifestyles. This proposal emerged in 2018 within the Seminar's own'Safe and Healthy School Environments' initiative ( https://entornosescolares.es/) and now it finally sees the light of day.

The Mobility and Childhood Seminar is a working group created within the framework of the Permanent Seminar Programme of the National Centre for Environmental Education (CENEAM, National Parks Autonomous Agency) and comprises professionals in urban planning, education, mobility management, road safety and public health, and representatives of different administrations, universities, research centres, and non-governmental organisations , involved in the development of policies and programmes aimed at promoting active, safe and autonomous mobility for children, as well as to defend their rights.

The motion urges the Government to promote specific proposals in the facilities and surroundings of schools, in collaboration with the FEMP and local associations related to education and the environment

In the motion approved today, the Congress of Deputies urges the Government to promote specific proposals in the facilities and surroundings of schools , in collaboration with the FEMP (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces) and local associations related to education and the environment. The first of these proposals prioritises proximity to the school centre as a basic criterion for the definition of school areas , for the benefit of children and the whole community. This will help to reverse the implementation of the 'single school zone', which has a negative socio-environmental impact by increasing daily motorised commute. The proposal also recommends a limit on parking and traffic in the surrounding streets, especially in the vicinity of the entrances to schools, and suggests prioritising pedestrian and cyclist mobility on the roads around schools.

The proposal also recommends a limit on parking and traffic in the surrounding streets, especially in the vicinity of the entrances to schools, and suggests prioritising pedestrian and cyclist mobility on the roads around schools

The approval of the motion is a step forward to achieve safe and healthy environments, but since it is a non-binding resolution, we must go further by materialising the agreements and involving all the competent administrations, especially the local councils . They are the ones who have the most competence and are aware of the particularities of each school environment in their municipalities. It is also important to involve the educational community and raise awareness on the importance of protecting the health and safety of children, as well as fostering their autonomy by promoting active and sustainable mobility. That is why the Seminar has developed a series of tools to help municipalities and communities to become aware of the current limitations and challenges in their localities and to take measures to solve them, something already discussed in a previous post in this blog .

So, going back to the beginning, today we are celebrating because we have achieved one of the objectives we had set for ourselves as a Seminar. But this is a brief celebration because we continue working to achieve theultimate goal, which is to have healthy and safe school environments and cities, for children, but also for the entire community.

The motion has been promoted by organisations and entities such as the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal); the Coordinadora en Defensa de la Bici - ConBici; the Spanish Confederation of Parents' Associations (CEAPA); the Asociación de Viandantes A Pie; the group 'La ciudad de los niños' of Acción Educativa; the Grupo de Estudios y Alternativas Gea21 and the Environmental Health Committee of the Spanish Association of Paediatrics (AEP).