Local context
In many Indian cities, young people are growing up in environments that struggle to meet their needs and pose challenges for their health and wellbeing. One important aspect of this is a lack of access to safe and adequate infrastructure and services.
Moreover, youth participation remains insufficient in urban development policies, advocacy, programmes and laws. Despite government schemes and initiatives, and support from the private and public sectors, there is a clear need for youth engagement and united efforts.
About the project
Safe, Vibrant and Healthy Public Spaces aims to make public spaces better for adolescents in Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar. The project introduces a public space assessment (PSA) framework, developed during Phase I (2018−2022), that communities can use to directly assess and suggest improvements to public spaces.
Adolescents in these communities become public space ambassadors, leading the assessment of current public spaces and proposing design improvements. The proposed changes are then modelled through tactical urbanism – temporary installations to show how these spaces could enhance neighbourhoods for adolescents and the wider community. These temporary changes can serve as examples to help cities plan and create long-term infrastructure for public spaces.
The project aims to guide city officials in using the PSA framework to enhance public spaces for adolescents, using a data-led approach.
Read about Phase I of this project.
Project ambitions for Phase II (2022−2026)
Safe, Vibrant and Healthy Spaces aims to create lasting and positive changes in the cities’ public spaces. It does this by enabling adolescents to advocate for better public spaces in their neighbourhoods and become changemakers within their communities. The project will support adolescents through capacity-building activities, so they can act as true drivers of change.
Building on the lessons from Phase I, the Phase II project works closely with local civil society organisations in Jaipur and Bhubaneswar to mobilise and support local adolescents. The project also works with city officials, helping them to understand and engage with adolescents to create safe, vibrant and healthy public spaces.
Project consortium and partnerships
The project delivery consortium is led by WRI and involves city-level non-profit organisations (two in each city). These consortium partners connect with adolescents through outreach and collaborative design. They also interact with public-sector stakeholders and contribute to ongoing reporting, evaluation and learning processes.