Young Gamechangers Amplifying Youth Voices for Healthier Public Spaces

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##

Cover image: Girls team training in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Supported by ‘Football for a New Tomorrow (FANT)’. Credit: Sticker, 2023
PDF
Published: Nov 6, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32891/jps.v9i2.1826
Keywords:
youth health and well-being gamechangers digital tools Global South

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

Christelle Lahoud
UN-Habitat
Cherie Enns
University of the Fraser Valley

Abstract

On the occasion of the 12th World Urban Forum, taking place in Cairo on 4-8 November 2024, City Space Architecture and UN-Habitat will launch this thematic issue of The Journal of Public Space dedicated to the Young Gamechangers Initiative (YGI), during a side event at the Urban Library. The Journal of Public Space is committed to diversity, inclusivity, and open access and provides an exemplary platform for such an issue featuring emerging scholars, young practitioners, and storytellers, often underrepresented in mainstream academia. Each research article, case study, and creative submission included in this thematic issue focuses on public spaces in diverse urban spaces, primarily in the Global South, and explores the nexus between governance, youth participation in placemaking, digital tools, and implications for youth health and well-being.

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##

How to Cite
Lahoud, C. and Enns, C. (2024) “Young Gamechangers: Amplifying Youth Voices for Healthier Public Spaces”, The Journal of Public Space, 9(2), pp. 1–8. doi: 10.32891/jps.v9i2.1826.
Issue
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2024): Young Gamechangers
Section
Editorial
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The Authors retain copyright for articles published in The Journal of Public Space, with first publication rights granted to the journal.
Articles in this journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial Licence (CC-BY-NC) - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
You are free to:
• Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
• Attribution - You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

 

Author Biographies

Christelle Lahoud, UN-Habitat

Christelle is a Lebanese Architect and Programme Management Officer working at UN-Habitat's HQ in Nairobi, Kenya. She is coordinating the urban health workstream and supports the work of planning for social inclusion and equity under the Planning, Finance and Economy section. Her work focuses on mainstreaming gender in planning processes, engaging vulnerable groups in city planning decisions, creating inclusive public spaces and supporting innovation and technology in urban projects. Christelle speaks Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Before joining UN-Habitat, she worked in Cape Town as an urban planner with Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU). She holds a master’s in Emergency Architecture and International Cooperation from the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya and a master’s in Architecture from Holy Spirit University of Kaslik - USEK.

Cherie Enns, University of the Fraser Valley

Cherie Enns is a registered urban planner, Associate Professor, and Chair of the University of the Fraser Valley Regional and Community Planning program. Dr. Enns is also a researcher for UN-Habitat, focusing on monitoring and evaluating the Young Gamechangers Initiative. She has extensive international planning and youth engagement experience, working with various stakeholders on child and youth rights, environmental planning and community development. As an educator, she teaches planning studio courses and leads collaborative placemaking initiatives. She has recently co-authored a book with Professor Kombe about youth voice, planning and policy, titled Child Rights and Displacement in East Africa: Agency and Spatial Justice in Planning Policy. Dr. Enns has experience managing programs, mobilising resources, and working on projects in several countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Somalia, and India. She has recently led several urban youth humanitarian projects within the Eastern African community. She holds an MA in Community and Regional Planning (UBC, Canada) and a Ph.D. in International Policy and Program Management at Ardhi Regional University in Tanzania.

References

Abebe, T. (2019) ‘Reconceptualising children’s agency as continuum and interdependence, ’ Social Sciences, 8(3) [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030081

Arnstein, S.R. (1969) ‘A ladder of citizen participation’, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), pp.216-224.

Bravo, L. (2020) ‘Public Space and the New Urban Agenda. Fostering a Human-centred Approach for the Future of our Cities’, in Metha, V., Palazzo D. (eds.) Companion to Public Space, New York: Routledge.

Cahill, H. (2015) ‘Approaches to understanding youth well-being’ in Wyn, J., Cahill, H. (eds) Handbook of children and youth studies. 1st Edition, Singapore: Springer, pp. 95–113. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-15-4_10

The Commonwealth. (2023) Global youth development index update report 2023. [online]. Available at: https://thecommonwealth.org/publications/global-youth-development-index-update-report-2023

C40 Cities. (2024) Why youth are powerful allies for your city’s climate ambitions [online]. Available at: https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Why-youth-are-powerful-allies-for-your-city-s-climate-ambitions?language=en_US

Enns, C., Ragan, D., and K. Koernig (2023) UN-Habitat youth governance report [unpublished report] UN-Habitat.

Enns, C. (2022) ‘Sustainable community design amidst social challenges: Insights from Nairobi, Kenya’ in Finger, M and Yanar, N. (eds.) The Elgar companion to urban infrastructure governance: Innovation, concepts and cases. [online] Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 87-108. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800375611.00013

Enns, C., and Kombe, W. J. (2023) Child rights and displacement in East Africa agency and Spatial justice in planning policy. 1st Edition. New York: Routledge.

Fondation Botnar (2023) Youth Gamechangers Initiative [online]. Available at: https://www.fondationbotnar.org/project/young-gamechangers-initiative-ygi/

General Assembly Resolution 44/25. (1989) Convention on the rights of the child [online]. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child

Huang, W. and G, Lin (2023) ‘The relationship between urban green space and social health of individuals: A scoping review’, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 85 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127969

Kenrick, J. (2023) ‘The impact of participation in decision-making on young people’s mental health and well-being: an evaluation of MAP’s youth voice programmes’, ResearchGate [online]. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15738.26563

Lundy, L. (2023) Involving children in decision-making: the Lundy model [online]. Available at: https://ceforum.org/uploads/event/event_documents/594/LUNDYMODELCEX.pdf

Pridmore, P. (2010) ‘Children’s participation in development for school health’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 20(1), pp. 103-113 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/030579200109888

Tuhkanen, H. et al. (2022) ‘Health and well-being in cities – Cultural contributions from urban form in the Global South context’, Well-being, Space and Society, 3 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2021.100071

UN-Habitat (2018) Tracking Progress Towards Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements. SDG 11 Synthesis Report-High Level Political Forum 2018.

UN-Habitat (2020) World cities report 2020 the value of sustainable urbanisation [online]. Available at: https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/10/wcr_2020_report.pdf

UN-Habitat (2023a) Global public space programme [online]. Available at: https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2024/03/final2_gpsp_annual_report_2023.pdf

UN-Habitat (2023b) 10 years of Global Public Space Programme – Annual Report 2022 and reflections on a Decade of Public Space [online]. Available at: https://unhabitat.org/10-years-of-global-public-space-programme-annual-report-2022-and-reflections-on-a-decade-of-public

UN-Habitat (2023c) Models & programs for youth’s governance & participation in planning: More inclusive & sustainable cities [online]. Available at: https://www.unhabitatyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Models-Programs-for-Youths-Governance-Participation-in-Planning-Dr.-Cherie-Enns.pdf

UN Population Fund (no date) Adolescent and youth demographics: A brief overview [online]. Available at: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/One%20pager%20on%20youth%20demographics%20GF.pdf

World Economic Forum (2023) More than 3 billion people could be living in slums by 2050: UN [online]. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/videos/more-than-3-billion-people-could-be-living-in-slums-by-2050-says-the-un/

World Health Organisation (2023) Healthy and thriving cities demand social, economic, human and planetary well-being [online]. Available at: https://www.who.int/azerbaijan/news/item/23-11-2023-healthy-and-thriving-cities-demand-social--economic--human-and-planetary-well-being

World Health Organisation (2024) Urban health WHO response [online]. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/urban-health#tab=tab_3