Engaging young people in urban planning is not a nice extra. If a project changes streets, homes, parks, transport, safety or public space, young people are already stakeholders.
This article builds on Simeon Shtebunaev’s work on youth participation and the Voice Opportunity Power toolkit commissioned by Grosvenor Britain and Ireland, with TCPA, Sport England and ZCD Architects involved in the wider toolkit work.
Watch: urbanist thinking and public conversation
This Architecture Social conversation with Lucy Bullivant adds a wider urbanist lens on how places are discussed, interpreted and shaped in public.
Why young people should be in the room
Young people use cities differently from adults. They notice safety, boredom, belonging, movement, cost, social space and whether a place gives them anything to do without being moved on.
If consultation only reaches homeowners, regular meeting attenders and people with time to respond to planning documents, the future city gets shaped by the most available voices rather than the full community.
What the original argument gets right
Simeon’s core point still matters: young people are often described as people who will inherit places later, but they are living in them now. They can also offer a different kind of local knowledge because their routines, risks and social lives are not the same as older adults.
- Read Simeon’s original essay on advocating for youth participation in planning and regeneration.
- Use the Voice Opportunity Power 10 Reasons essay as a source when building the case internally.
- Check Grosvenor’s Giving young people a voice page for the toolkit context and research findings.
Go deeper with Architecture Social
These related Architecture Social episodes add more context once you have the practical framework.
Listen: urbanist strategy and public narratives
The podcast version goes deeper into how writing, curation and urban strategy shape the way people understand cities.
How to involve young people properly
Good youth engagement needs structure. It cannot be one afternoon with sticky notes if the project team has already made every meaningful decision.
- Start early enough for young people to influence the brief.
- Explain the project in plain language, not planning jargon.
- Pay attention to safeguarding, access, time of day and location.
- Use formats that let people draw, map, photograph, walk and talk.
- Show what changed because of the engagement.
- Keep going after the first workshop, especially where stewardship matters.
What architects and planners can learn
For architects, the lesson is bigger than consultation technique. It is about evidence. If a portfolio or project pitch says a place is inclusive, show who was asked, what they said and how the design responded.
That is especially useful for public realm, housing, education, sports, mixed-use, regeneration and community projects where the brief should not be shaped only by adult assumptions.
Questions a design team should ask before engagement starts
- Which young people are affected by the project, and who is missing from the usual consultation route?
- What decisions are still genuinely open?
- What language, drawings or models will make the project understandable?
- How will feedback be recorded and reported back?
- Who is responsible for safeguarding and consent?
- What will happen after the first workshop?
How to show youth engagement in your work
If youth engagement is part of a project, capture it as evidence. A single photo of a workshop is weaker than a short explanation of what was heard and how the design changed.
Students and early-career designers can use this well. It shows judgement, empathy and the ability to work with real users, which is stronger than presenting community as a vague design value.
Common mistakes
- Asking young people questions after the design is already fixed.
- Using one youth workshop as a diversity badge.
- Confusing attendance with influence.
- Over-simplifying the topic instead of explaining it properly.
- Failing to report back on what changed.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s industry view is that the best built-environment candidates can talk about people, not just projects. Youth engagement is a strong example because it shows whether a designer can listen, translate and take responsibility for consequences.
Next step
If you are working on a public-facing project, add youth engagement to the brief early. If you are a student or candidate, use Architecture Social resources and the podcast to keep building the human side of your design evidence.
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