Children shape and are shaped by their micro and macro environments. Homes, neighborhoods, and institutions affect children’s health and wellbeing and structure their play and behavior. In turn, children through their everyday actions often contest, negotiate and modify their surroundings. This selection of readings introduces the reader to some of the physical, socio-cultural, and political contexts of children living in urban environments across the world. Urban planner Louise Chawla’s Growing Up in an Urbanizing World (2001) is an excellent collection of research studies from both majority and minority world countries that portray children’s experiences of their neighborhood. Its accompanying volume Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth (Driskell, 2002) introduces the reader to various methods and guidelines that can be used to engage children in participatory research.