Kids in Cities

Attracting and retaining talent is top-of-mind for urban leaders today. Yet, many cities are at risk of losing talented workers as they start families and have children.

What can cities do to retain the talent they've worked so hard to attract once they couple and have children?

That's what CEOs for Cities set out to find in a year-long study, which found that parents had three major concerns about city-living: space, schools, and safety. Researchers from the Institute of Design found that families with kids living in cities solved these problems by substituting public space for their lack of private space; they use the city's superior cultural and educational assets to supplement schooling; and they valued the community's "eyes on the street" to make their children safer.