Youth Activities

Involving youth in the design process through interactive and creative activities in order to foster inclusivity and stewardship.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of facilitating these activities is to engage youth in the design process to make the design more inclusive and reflective of community members of all ages.

ACTIVITY PHASE:

Involvement of youth should occur throughout the whole design process, but emphasis on their involvement should be in the beginning of the project when deciding on programming elements.

Vision & Goals
Program Development
Design Alternatives
Feedback & Synthesize
Master Plan
Feedback & Synthesize
Implementation

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Printed Activities
Drawing Materials
Writing Utensils
Computer & Internet
Volunteer Project Guides

Preferred Format:

The preferred format for these activities is physically printed copies.

SUGGESTIONS:

Do work with youth participants to translate ideas into drawings
Do provide the materials for participants to use
Do encourage creativity
Do involve youth in public meetings or engagement sessions to maintain involvement and transparency

Overview

For projects where the main user group is youth, such as playgrounds and parks, it is vital to include this age group in the engagement phase and design process. Involving youth also ensures all community members, regardless of age, have a voice in a project. Having this level of inclusivity and involvement for youth establishes community pride and establishes a sense of ownership of a project.

Organization and Process

The various activities that can involve youth...

1. "Draw Your Dream Park" Activity

Supplying a drawing exercise to younger participants creates a platform for any idea to be shared with a project’s design team. A simple sheet with the prompt “Draw Your Dream Park” allows for participants to showcase their creativity and encourages any idea to be shared. For this activity, it is important to emphasize that no idea is off the table, and participants should be encouraged to draw anything that comes to mind. The target age group for this activity is elementary school-age children, but it is also encouraged to be completed by other age groups as well.

Steps:

Set up a document using a preferred software (InDesign, Microsoft Word, etc.)
Design the layout of the sheet. Make sure to include space for writing names, the prompt, and delineated space for drawing.
Print copies to distribute and make a digital PDF copy for participants who prefer to draw digitally.

2. Creative Writing Exercise

To gain more descriptive information on what youth want to see in a space, a creative writing exercise can be distributed. This activity, similar to the drawing exercise, involves one prompt that directs participants to describe their ideal day in a park. While the goal is to gain insight into the specific space that is being designed, this prompt is not location-specific in order to encourage creativity. The answers from this exercise, while not location-specific, will help inform the project team on the elements or experiences that youth want to see reflected in the final design. The target age group for this activity is middle and high school-aged youth, but it can be distributed to other age groups as well.

Steps:

Set up a document using a preferred software (InDesign, Microsoft Word, etc.)
Design the layout of the sheet. Make sure to include space for writing names, the prompt, and lines on the page for writing (enough for about a paragraph or two).
Print copies to distribute and make a digital doc. copy for participants who prefer to write digitally.

3. Community-Led Projects

In order to involve youth at all points of the design process, community-led projects that are designed around youth participation ensure they have a part in the implementation of the final product. Providing opportunities for this level of involvement also fosters a sense of pride and empowerment for the youth that participate because they can be a part of bringing their ideas to life. Examples of projects that can involve youth include crosswalk or intersection murals, planting days, or general art projects.

Tips to Motivate Participants:

Some participants may find it difficult or daunting to translate their ideas into drawings. To assist in this process, facilitators should help participants approach the drawing with confidence by walking them through how to draw a certain object. An example of this could be a participant who does not know how to draw a playground. The facilitator could ask questions such as:
- - - What shapes make up a playground?
    - What elements are made of squares, circles, etc.?
To assist participants with the writing exercise, facilitators could ask follow-up questions such as:
- - - What is the weather like?
    - What noises do you hear?
    - What activities are you doing?
It is important to schedule community-led projects to optimize youth participation. Having projects on weekends or during the summer will create more availability for youth to be involved.
Each community-led project should have a step-by-step volunteer guide that is provided before the project date in order to prepare participants for their expected duties and suggest items to bring.

Advantages and Limitations:

The advantages of these activities are the identification of program elements that are desired by the majority user group of a playground or park.
Limitations for these activities arise when the project team is not able to facilitate the activities directly to the participants and explain them. Simply handing them off to educators or parents to facilitate without proper direction could create confusion.

Case Example

In the Fall of 2021, youth inclusive design strategies were utilized for the Re-Imagining Bowman Park project in Bowman, South Carolina. Due to the primary users of the park being the local youth, including them in the design process was vital to the overall goal of having the community's identity reflected in the design. The team distributed the various activities and surveys to the local elementary, middle, and high school in order to receive input. Due to the visiting protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team was not able to facilitate the activities directly to the students or discuss the project in-person, but the activities yielded useful input which was applied to the final design.

Examples provided from Bowman Park Project (Fall 2021).

The preferred activity from the Bowman Park project was the "Draw Your Dream Park" exercise. The outcomes of the drawings show elements such as zip lines, swings, an ice cream shop, climbing walls, water elements, and monkey bars. The creativity the students brought to the project inspired the design team to incorporate elements from the drawings into the final design, one of those being a zip line. Due to spatial limitations, a large zip line could not be included, but the team found an 18-foot sliding track that would mimic the same type of play. Overall, the activities showed how excited the youth in the community were about the project, and in the long run, they will feel connected to the park due to their involvement during the initial design process.

Lessons Learned

Facilitating these activities allowed for the project team to connect with the youth in the community who are the main user group of the project. Receiving their input allowed for the team to include programming elements that they wanted to see such as a zip line, community history interpretation, and new play equipment. Having their involvement led to a more inclusive design that reflects all members of the community and excitement around the implementation of the project.

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