This paper considers the everyday geographies of children living in new large-scale urban
developments in which multiple forms of ‘sustainable’ urban architecture are characteristic
features. We argue that children's experiences of living with materialities,
politics, and technologies of sustainability have too often been marginalised in much chief
research on childhood, youth, and sustainability. Drawing on qualitative research with
8–16-year-olds living with materialities of ‘sustainable’ ecohousing, urban drainage, wind
turbines, and photovoltaic panelling, we explore how sustainable urban architectures are
noticed, (mis)understood, cared about, and lived with by children in the course of their
everyday geographies. In so doing, we highlight the challenging prevalence and significance of
architectural conservatisms, misconceptions, rumours, disillusionments, and urban myths
relating to sustainable urban architectures.
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