This article explores the extent to which urban planning professionals in Iran are prepared to facilitate children’s inclusion in city decision-making. What do Iranian planners believe about the potential effectiveness of children’s inclusion? Evidence from research in Mashhad elicited ambivalent reactions on the part of planners. They held conflicting viewpoints on children’s involvement from various perspectives, including its feasibility, its value to children and to the planning system, and its implications for their own roles. There was evidence, however, that planners’ current purpose could change from passively instrumental roles to advocacy, partnership and communication. The paper considers how the functioning of the larger planning system might incorporate child-participation initiatives, facilitating a more democratic approach to planning and citizen participation in urban environments.

Opening Day photographs appeared in Iran’s newspapers celebrating the succession of outdoor Nature Schools commencing each year from 2014. Using a narrative photographic approach, this qualitative study collected and analysed newspaper pictures for Iran’s Nature Schools in the half decade to 2017. At this time, government approval reflected careful planning to develop these new outdoor educational opportunities. Seven news media articles were thematically analysed from this period utilising twelve pictures. This photographic method provides another layer of understanding beyond official statements of intention, formal approval or written text. Through the local features of schools, a pattern of national intention and official endorsement can be seen, but also an awareness of invisible rules permitting outdoor learning experiences. What do these images tell us about this environmental opportunity for a new generation of schoolchildren? How do the pictures portray the urban need for the outdoors? Are there clues in these pictures of the subsequent shutting down of these outdoor schools, denying further expansion? These images tell their own story alongside formal narratives embodied in official Opening Day ceremonies and statements. We conclude these schools were meeting a strongly-felt need for the outdoors in highly urbanised contemporary Iran.