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What impact can involving youth in urban design have?

BOOKMARK ARTICLE

Involving children in the design process will help create safer neighbourhoods to work, live and play in, generating a stronger sense of community.

You often hear architects talk about young people being the future users of spaces. 'However, they are also the current users,’ says Neil Onions, founder of Beyond The Box Consultants (BTB). According to the CEO, young people should actively influence the practice of urban design. He believes architects need to listen to the younger generation to understand why they feel welcome in certain places and excluded from others. 'How young people use their local environments can dramatically vary from how adults utilize them,’ Onions explains. ‘Understanding these nuances will lead to better design outcomes.’

Through a youth-centred approach, Onions’ organization BTB trains, employs and collaborates with a wealth of young people to help them shape their environments. The community-interest company empowers the group to co-create spaces through design programmes and campaigns. ‘Young people can influence urban design once they are provided with a space to explore ideas and are given agency by the design team,’ he explains. But, in his opinion, listening to the younger generation will only positively change the nature of design if it is followed by action. 

Creating equitable space

One project that showcases this is BTB's Space For Girls initiative. Space For Girls was an outreach programme where young women from London’s St Raphael’s Estate learned how to design public spaces that would help promote health and wellbeing in the local area. The initiative began during the community engagement programme for the renewal of St Raphael’s Estate, and was led by BTB, life coach Tiffany Osumah and architecture practice Karakusevic Carson Architects (KCA). It gave young women the platform to express what they would like to see in their area, informing KCA’s design for the project.

Space For Girls gave local teenage girls the opportunity to ideate public spaces that promote health and wellbeing.

Many places designed for teenagers are often tailored towards males: this can be seen in multi-use game areas, small-scale sports arenas and skateparks. However, by asking females to contribute to moulding these areas, the spaces become more inclusive in turn. ‘Every idea simply cannot be taken forward within a design, but if we begin to see young people as designers and experts of their lived experience, then perhaps the balance of power can be tipped,’ Onions explains.

Youth designing for future youth 

By listening, reviewing and implementing the thoughts and feelings of the younger generation, designers can ensure that places are genuinely equitable. Aberfeldy Village is another prime example. The project is a 20-year transformation of a post-war council estate in East London into a bustling neighbourhood by housing association Poplar HARCA and EcoWorld London. The idea for the estate – which, when finished, will provide 1,500 new homes, a GP surgery clinic, ample green spaces and a wealth of accessible community assets – is to connect new and existing spaces across East London while putting play and wellbeing at the centre of the design process.

Cover: Aberfeldy Estate masterplan by ZCD Architects. Above: The firm works with local pupils to inform new schemes for the 20-year Aberfeldy Estate transformation.

Multidisciplinary practice ZCD Architects enlisted 100 local pupils to inform aspects of the masterplan – they have helped think up schemes for everything from new cycle routes to safe walkways to travel down at night. According to director Dinah Bornat, young people are frequently on the receiving end of spatial design but are usually unable to contribute to them. ‘I want to completely change this narrative,’ she states. The architecture firm collaborates closely with Aberfeldy’s design team to carefully translate the ideas of the young people into landscaping, urban design and public realm elements. The youth involved in the project will all be adults by the time of its completion, reinforcing that reality the children of today are the adults of tomorrow. 

Ultimately, with the help of designers, young people can meaningfully influence the practice of urban design and positively shape their surroundings. The younger generation can provide vital insight and perspectives that adults are simply unaware of. Architects can learn a lot from the lived experiences of children if they genuinely listen to them: by doing so, they mould places that are more welcoming, equitable and inclusive.

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