C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc.
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc.
11/05/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2024 02:24
Youth Reinventing Cities: How C40’s design competitions have given youth a role in planning the cities of tomorrow
In Focus
November 5, 2024
The climate crisis demands innovative and imaginative solutions in how our cities are planned and designed to protect people and the planet. With children and young people having the most at stake from climate action, the youth inheriting the planet must be empowered to shape those solutions.
C40's Youth Reinventing Cities programme empowers a new generation of leaders and promotes a more sustainable future for cities globally. Through the programme's design competitions, global youth are learning about sustainable and inclusive urban practices and shaping a greener and more just urban future for all. Their ideas are shared with city leaders to inspire the future development of the competition sites.
50 global cities have now harnessed Youth Reinventing Cities as a tool to work with young people and reimagine urban areas. To date, more than 13,000 youth from over 1,500 schools and universities have submitted ideas that tackle city climate challenges and inform planning policies.
Students Reinventing Cities just launched its fourth global competition for university students and youth ages 18 and up to reimagine different neighbourhoods with green and thriving solutions - from improving active mobility to adding green and inclusive spaces - in 11 cities: Amman, Barcelona, Freetown, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Milan, Quito, Rome and Tshwane.
Schools Reinventing Cities, in collaboration with Minecraft Education, engages school students across the world in urban climate action through game-based learning in a custom Minecraft city. With 17 cities engaged to date, current challenges are engaging school students across New York, Tshwane, and Atlanta.
Read on for examples of real-life city challenges and students' solutions:
Accessible, green and thriving neighbourhoods
In Amman, the city sought student ideas for greener and more accessible public spaces, with benches and play facilities, to enhance the quality of life. In New York's Battle of the Boroughs, students will design solutions for equitable access to quality food, green space and entrepreneurship opportunities where they live.
Team Perspective, Amman Students Reinventing Cities Winners 2024Water safety and resilience
In Quito, students are developing a resilient housing model for communities affected by flooding along the Rio Monjas, the city's most polluted river. In Jakarta and Lisbon, city governments are seeking youth ideas for public spaces that integrate drainage systems. In Buenos Aires, school students designed ideas for sustainable water management in their neighbourhoods.
Team Los Lorax designed flood prevention ideas for Buenos AiresClean air
Schools Reinventing Cities saw brilliant ideas from students in Los Angeles for clean air zones in their city. Tshwane is gathering youth ideas that will inform the city strategy to reduce traffic and create people-centred streets. In Wuhan and Barcelona, students also developed solutions to improve transport and walkability.
Green Oasis designed accessible public transport ideas for Los AngelesFor more information or to support the programme, reach out to [email protected].
Hear from those involved:
C40 Co-Chair Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
© Maurizio Martorana - C40
"As Co-Chair of C40, I'm committed to actively engaging young people in climate action. Students Reinventing Cities is a tangible example of how cities can do exactly that, and receive innovative design solutions to their urban challenges at the same time."
Minecraft
© Microsoft
Allison Matthews, Head of Minecraft Education, said: "Minecraft Education is thrilled to work with C40 on Schools Reinventing Cities. By inviting students into Minecraft to design a more sustainable version of their city, we are giving them a voice in evolving their community, sparking interest in green careers and empowering them to create a brighter future."
URBANAUTAS
Mayor of Salvador Bruno Reis, said: "Encouraging students to reimagine cities is investing in our future, bringing young people closer to public administration and showing what we can achieve together. Bringing young people into this conversation is fundamental so that we can broaden their awareness of citizenship, belonging and participation in the debate on the future of cities."
Urbanautas, Students Reinventing Cities Winning Team in Salvador, said: "It was powerful to propose design solutions outside the traditional academic environment and to contribute to our city by applying some of what we learned and experienced as students and users of these spaces. It was especially rewarding to contribute to the construction of a more inclusive city, making us understand that sustainability is about relating nature, spaces and people."
Eco Queens
Eco Queens, Copenhagen Winners 2024, said: "As a team of students from various disciplines, we combined different perspectives, enriching our approach to urban planning. Contributing innovative ideas to the city's future planning has been incredibly fulfilling, reaffirming the value of collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking in creating sustainable and inclusive urban spaces."
Los Angeles
© Low Carbon City
Teacher, Pablo Gaeta, Business and Entrepreneurship Virtual Academy Educator, Los Angeles Unified School District, said: "These student videos not only showcase creativity and passion but also highlight the innovative solutions our young minds are proposing to combat environmental challenges. It's clear that this generation is not just aware of the challenges we face but is also eager to take action, demonstrating that they are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also the changemakers of today."
Mayor of Quezon City Joy Belmonte
© Minecraft
Mayor of Quezon City Joy Belmonte, said: "Through our collaboration with C40 Cities and Minecraft Education in launching the C40 Minecraft Challenge for our young innovators in Quezon City, we aim to further our whole-of-city approach to create a sustainable future for all. We believe that it is more crucial than ever to give the youth, our next generation of innovators, the opportunity to help develop programs to protect the environment."
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