Placemaking with Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities

by Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla, Mara Mintzer

Overview

An illustrated, essential guide to engaging children and youth in the process of urban design

From a history of children’s rights to case studies discussing international initiatives that aim to create child-friendly cities, Placemaking with Children and Youth offers comprehensive guidance in how to engage children and youth in the planning and design of local environments. It explains the importance of children’s active participation in their societies and presents ways to bring all generations together to plan cities with a high quality of life for people of all ages. Not only does it delineate best practices in establishing programs and partnerships, it also provides principles for working ethically with children, youth, and families, paying particular attention to the inclusion of marginalized populations.

Drawing on case studies from around the world—in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States—Placemaking with Children and Youth showcases children’s global participation in community design and illustrates how a variety of methods can be combined in initiatives to achieve meaningful change. The book features more than 200 visuals and detailed, thoughtful guidelines for facilitating a multiplicity of participatory processes that include drawing, photography, interviews, surveys, discussion groups, role playing, mapping, murals, model making, city tours, and much more. Whether seeking information on individual methods and project planning, interpreting and analyzing results, or establishing and evaluating a sustained program, readers can find practical ideas and inspiration from six continents to connect learning to the realities of students’ lives and to create better cities for all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613321003
Publisher:	New Village Press
Publication date:	09/18/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Victoria Derr is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at California State University Monterey Bay, where her teaching and research focus on the intersections between sustainable communities, environmental education, and social justice. From 2012–2016, she served as a co-coordinator of Growing Up Boulder at the University of Colorado.

Louise Chawla is Professor Emerita in the Program in Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder. With degrees in Environmental Psychology and Education and Child Development, her research areas are children and nature, children in cities, participatory planning and design, and the development of committed action for the environment.

Mara Mintzer is Director of Growing Up Boulder, a program in the Community Engagement Design and Research Center at University of Colorado Boulder. She writes and speaks internationally about engaging young voices in city planning. She also has designed and implemented many programs for under-represented children and families.

Table of Contents

Dedication v

List of Boxes xii

List of Figures xv

List of Forms and Tables xxv

Acknowledgments xxvii

Foreword David Driskell Willem van Vliet xxxi

Orientation to the Chapters xxxiii

A Word about the Instructions and Time Allocations in This Book xxxiv

1 Growing Together through Participatory Placemaking 1

An International Framework for Children's Participation 2

Changing Contexts of Urban Planning 4

Child Friendly Cities 6

Methods of Participation 7

Why It Matters 8

2 Supporting Young People's Engagement 11

Establishing Programs and Partnerships 12

Implementing Projects 19

Sustaining Programs 25

3 Ethics of Participation 29

Ethical Relationships among Participants 29

Everyday Ethics in Action 35

Ethical Methods of Gathering, Sharing, and Using Information 45

4 Understanding Communities through Background Research 51

Secondary Sources 52

Demographic Data 52

Historical Documents 53

Maps 54

Interviews 56

Key Informant Interviews 56

Survey Interviews 58

Observations 59

Informal Observations and "Hanging Out" 59

Behavior Mapping 60

Photo Documentation 66

Photogrids 66

Before and After Photographs 66

5 Art-Based Methods 67

Drawings 68

Variation: Intergenerational Drawings 73

Murals 73

Variation: Intergenerational Mural Making 75

Variation: Banners 76

Collage 78

Nicho Boxes 80

Photographic Methods 82

Photovoice 82

Photography with Hesitant Youth 84

Leadership among Farmworker Families in Salinas, California 85

Photo-Drawing 86

Storytelling and Writing 87

Digital Stories 93

Participatory Video 96

Three Dimensional Models 99

Variation: City as Play 104

Role Plays, Dramas, and Puppet Shows 107

Personscape 108

A Typical Day 110

Drama 110

Puppet Shows 114

6 Interviews, Focus Groups, and Surveys 115

Interviews 116

Adults Interviewing Children 119

Variation: Interviews with Puppets 125

Adults Interviewing Other Adults about Children 125

Children and Youth Interviewing Adults and Other Young People 127

Focus Groups and Other Group Discussions 132

Focus Groups 133

Other Group Discussion 139

Photo-Elicitation 141

Activity Diaries 142

Variation: Aerial Geographic Diaries 144

Variation: Sunrise to Sunset 144

Surveys and Questionnaires 145

Visual Preference Surveys 155

7 Into the City 161

Child-Led Tours 164

Variation: Child-led Tours through Simulated Environments 167

Variation: Town Trails 168

Learning Expeditions 168

Photo-Framing 175

Photogrids 179

Bioblitz Inventories 182

Software Applications for Site Information and Evaluation 184

Map Making 185

Area Sketch Maps 186

Route Maps 188

Variation: Sound Maps 189

Variation: Collage Maps 191

Variation: Stream or River Maps 191

Mobility Maps 191

Community Mapping-Creating and Using a Base Map 192

Variation: Explorer Maps 195

Variation: Three-Dimensional Relief Maps 196

Participatory GIS 197

8 Workshops and Community Events 201

Charrettes + Co-Design 202

Variation: Co-Design Youth Manual 207

Child-Participatory Budgeting 211

Child and Youth Presentations 213

Tailor presentation formats to project goats, structures, and needs 214

Respect young people's privacy and ownership of their ideas 214

Take time to review and rehearse 214

Prepare the adult audience to be supportive 215

Variation: Young People Speaking at Public Events and City Council Sessions 219

Celebrations 222

Gulliver's Footprints 224

Futures Festivals 225

Living Laboratories 227

Improving Community Commons 228

9 Organizing, Analyzing, and Reporting Ideas 235

Reviewing Goals and Identifying Outcomes 235

Analyzing and Interpreting 235

Expressing Ideas through Young People's Words and Images 244

Compiling Project Ideas into Reports and Other Formats 245

Reports Generated by Young People 245

Reporting Back to Young People 253

10 Reflection and Evaluation 257

Reflection and Evaluation with Adult Stakeholders 258

The Most Significant Change Technique 261

Pre- and Post-Photographs 263

Children and Youth as Evaluators 264

Questionnaires 264

Working with External Evaluators 271

Aligning Outcome and Evaluation Measures 273

11 Putting It Together and Taking Action 277

Participatory Schoolyard Design, London, Ontario, Canada 280

Designing a Child-Friendly Hospital: Phila Impilo!, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provinces, South Africa 286

Designing a Child-Friendly Neighborhood: Dapto Dreaming, New South Wales, Australia 291

Promoting Safe Communities: Bhopal and Mumbai, India 296

Great Neighborhoods: Young People's Perspectives for a Comprehensive Housing Strategy, Boulder, Colorado, United States 302

Move Around and Play in The Hague, The Netherlands 309

Design-Build with Children to Revive Remnant Public Spaces, San Juan, Puerto Rico 314

Open Space Planning, Boulder, Colorado, United States 319

12 Conclusion 329

References 335

Index 349

About the Authors 365

Editorial Reviews

"From the forward-thinking mind-set of creating sustainable future cities, this practical guide outlines how to engage youth in local research and action for environmental planning and design. Including case studies on child-friendly city initiatives, this title shares best practices for working ethically with children, and proposes cross-generational engagement, with attention to equity."

Public Art Review

"What an inspiring, fresh addition to the hallowed library of human habitat design! I am so grateful that this book has been written, with its guidance on how to engage kids, how to work in diverse urban environments, and its numerous case studies that can be replicated. Now, many more children can be assisted to grow into their full potential as community leaders and changemakers!"

Mark Lakeman

"This wonderful book recognizes that sustainable development calls for highly participatory local communities, including children and youth, who can cooperatively plan for and flexibly respond to environmental change. Based on this engaged view of citizenship, it offers a comprehensive range of practical methods for everyone."

Roger Hart

"Placemaking with Children and Youth makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature that focuses on the practice of place-based education. Even novices to this approach will find simple and straightforward tools capable of opening up the world of local inquiry and action to both themselves and their students."

Gregory A. Smith

"This is the most helpful guidebook I have read regarding our work with children! Insightful and well-structured, this guide provides a holistic and comprehensive approach to genuine participation, providing valuable tools and methods that can be adjusted to different contexts and project types."

Maria Sitzoglou