Speaker
Description
Often formalized, if not ossified, governance structures frequently disregard engaging diverse voices and open the arena to alternative means of addressing local(ized) challenges. The inclusion of youth—often overlooked in decision-making—promises to bring fresh perspectives to shaping pathways towards more equitable and sustainable urban futures. However, youth participation faces significant systemic barriers, including limited access to platforms for civic engagement, inadequate decision-making frameworks, insufficient recognition of youth organizations, mistrust between generations and often fragmentation of youth initiatives, all of which hinder meaningful engagement in urban planning and decision-making processes. The Participatory Skills for Sustainable Urban Governance (PS-U-GO – psugo.eu) project introduces Urban Living Labs (ULLs) as open and accessible platforms to address these gaps, fostering youth participation in urban governance based on inclusive co-creation, knowledge exchange, and problem-solving in response to global and local urban challenges.
Problem Addressed:
Drawing on co-governance models, which bring together actors from academia, government, industry, and civil society, ULLs offer a dynamic framework for diverse stakeholder engagement in decision-making that balances local needs with global challenges while ensuring, while addressing challenges such as power imbalances, conflicting priorities, and bureaucratic inertia. PS-U-GO furthers ULL methodology by facilitating youth engagement. Implemented in four distinct urban contexts—Naples, Nicosia, Palermo, and Cottbus—the project addresses issues such as social exclusion, resource inequities, and insufficient mechanisms for democratic participation. Through ULLs, PS-U-GO empowers youth to shape urban transformation processes, fostering their sense of agency in enacting meaningful change.
Methodology:
PS-U-Go’s methodology is structured across three phases: Design and Initiation, Operation, and Evaluation and Feedback. The Operation phase is pivotal for entailing "learn-make-show “and includes:
· Theme Choice: Identifying needs and opportunities, with a focus on youth, to select relevant themes or topics.
· Exploration: Lab sessions, on-site explorations, and urban masterclasses with external experts to acquire new knowledge and co-develop ideas for positive urban action.
· Experimentation and Co-Creation: Co-creating, testing, and prototyping (if needed) with support from external experts to achieve the desired outcomes.
· Urban Showcase: Sharing the process and outcomes with the public to communicate the new knowledge creatively and effectively.
Tools such as GIS mapping, co-design workshops, participatory storytelling, participatory action research and creative actions like gamification are employed to ensure inclusive and meaningful participation and allow for contextual adaptation. A hybrid approach—blending digital and analog tools—addresses accessibility challenges while fostering dialogue and collaboration. Iterative feedback mechanisms and evaluation tools, such as NVivo and Tableau, offer actionable insights enhancing stakeholder engagement and project outcomes, fostering reflective learning and creating continuous feedback loops. The methodology adapts to local contexts, integrating stakeholders from the quadruple helix—academia, industry, government, and civil society—to promote cross-sectoral collaboration.
Outcomes:
While co-governance models foster collaboration and innovation, they are not immune to challenges such as power imbalances and insufficient recognition. PS-U-GO illustrates how equipping young people with the skills and opportunities to influence urban decision-making can offset these challenges. The project’s four ULLs adopt a flexible and adaptable methodology and act as four different cases of youth-inclusive urban governance models/ cases. Working in parallel, from December 2024 to October 2025, these ULLs foster knowledge exchange through training events, with a well-organized schedule and key shared points of exchange. PS-U-GO offers a replicable framework for promoting equitable, sustainable, and resilient urban development globally, showcasing the importance of youth inclusion in overcoming future local and systemic challenges.
References
Chang, E., Sjöberg, S., Turunen, P. and Rambaree, K., 2022. Youth empowerment for sustainable development: Exploring ecosocial work discourses. Sustainability, 14(6), p.3426.
ESCAP, U., 2017. UN and SDGs: a handbook for youth.
Union for the Mediterranean, 2024. Youth Engagement Outcome Document. [pdf] Available at: https://ufmsecretariat.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ufm_youthengagement_outcomedocument.pdf [Accessed 14 January 2025].
| Keywords | urban living labs; urban governance; community engagement; youth participation |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
