Increasing Youth Participation in How Places Are Made & Managed
In our community charter, Positive Space Grosvenor committed to ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to understand and influence change in their neighbourhood.
Around 25% of the UK population is under 19. However, research commissioned by Grosvenor in 2020 revealed that 89% of young adults aged 16-18 have never been asked about their neighbourhood and just 8% had attended a public consultation.
Of those who had never been asked their opinion by a developer or council, the overwhelming majority (82%), wanted the chance to be involved.
Without change, we will continue to build to suit the lives of those most likely to participate and lose perspectives and ideas that will not and cannot emerge from other groups.
A new national youth engagement toolkit, Voice. Opportunity. Power created with Sport England, The TCPA and ZCD Architects provides a free practical framework to help professionals meaningfully engage young people in the future of the places where they live.
Backed on launch by nearly 30 developers, councils, designers, youth and sports organisations it can give young people aged 11-18 a voice and influence in the way that places are built and managed.
Giving young adults a voice and power over what gets built by Simeon Shtebunaev, Doctoral Researcher in Youth and Smart Cities