Does Your Neighbourhood Pass the Popsicle Test?

The Popsicle Test

A simple measure of how safe your neighbourhood is for children

Popsicle Test: An 8-year old can walk to corner store, buy a popsicle and return home before it melts“If an 8-year old can safely walk from home to a nearby convenience store, buy a popsicle and return home before it melts, the neighbourhood is deemed a safe and walkable place.”

 

Originally coined in 2003 by renowned Urban Planner and Vancouverite Larry Beasley, the Popsicle Test has been used for more than a decade as an informal benchmark for measuring safety and liveability in neighbourhoods.

 

Canadian neighbourhoods should seemingly have an easy time passing the popsicle test since our long, cold winters often allow people to walk all day with no worries about melting popsicles.

The underlying premise is the same though no matter what climate you live in:

  • Is your neighbourhood safe for children to walk and play? and
  • Are there places such as nearby retail or public spaces they can walk to?

If the neighbourhood works for children, it works for everyone.

Look At Your Neighbourhood Through the Eyes of a Child

Take a walk around your neighbourhood with your children, or with your neighbours and their children.  Assess it from the kids’ perspective.

Look at your neighbourhood through the eyes of a child

  • Are there places to explore, invent, play, imagine, cycle or do other kid-friendly activities?
  • Are the streets safe to cross?
  • Is there a risk or fear of violence?
  • Are there nearby retail or public places to walk to alone or with friends?
  • Are there neighbourhood recreational activities to take part in?
  • Are there other kids playing outside on a regular basis? (If not, why not?)

The answers to these questions will help to define your neighbourhood, and reveal what is good about it and what should be changed.

Make Your Neighbourhood a Better Place for Kids and Families

  1. Get neighbourhood families together and create a plan– What changes would you like to see?  Who is willing to help?
  2. Determine the skills and in-kind services already available through the people living in your neighbourhood;  you may have carpenters, coaches, planners and other skilled individuals living in your midst.
  3. Connect with your elected officials, community leaders and local businesses to see what they can contribute towards neighbourhood enhancement.
  4. Identify activities that can be started immediately without the need to find financial resources.  For example, a Neighbourhood Watch Program or  Walk To School Club.

 

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Mahatma Ghandi