The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People Processes, Practices and Policies for Youth Inclusion

"Someday soon we will start to judge the health of a city or neighborhood by the number of kids free to play, roam, and gather outside. When we do, any places that have absorbed the lessons of this book will be ahead of the pack."

President of Let Grow, and founder of Free-Range Kids

"The public realm has an important role to play in fostering healthy, resilient, and engaged children and youth. Unfortunately, for the last 80 years we have been planning our cities thinking much more about the movement of cars than on the health and happiness of human beings. This kind of planning has been especially harmful to children and youth, severely limiting their right to actively move in and explore the public realm. If we want our parks, streets, and public spaces ringing with the sounds of children's laughter, high jinks, and play like they used to, then we need to bring to children and youth on as collaborators and co-creators in designing public spaces. The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People gives city builders, planners, urban designers, policy makers, and anyone interested in making our cities livable and lovable for children and youth, the important tools and case studies to help get it done. This book comes at an important time as we work to change the course of planning for the public realm, do the work to correct and reconcile the inequities of the past, and create more inclusive and human-centered cities."

Amanda O'Rourke

Executive Director, 8-80 Cities

Toronto, Ontario

"Cities that listen to and engage youth in creating welcoming spaces also tend to promote a high quality of life for all. Drawing from leading scholars and emerging practice, this volume is essential reading for understanding current thinking and best practices for how and why engaging and valuing youth perspectives is so important in the public realm. Exploring fundamental aspects of play, inclusion, and participation in a range of public space projects, this book offers insights and practical suggestions for how youth advocates, policy makers, planners, and urban designers can be leaders and partners with youth in creating more inclusive public spaces in a wide range of urban contexts."

Victoria Derr, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Program, California State University Monterey Bay

Co-author of Placemaking with Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities

"Young people have a lot to say.... and we should listen! This book shows how to engage children and youth in planning and design projects in ways that are meaningful, educational... and fun!"

Chief Executive Officer, MIG

Berkeley, California

Co-editor of The Inclusive City: Design Solutions for Buildings, Neighborhoods and Urban Spaces (2007)

Co-author of Streets Reconsidered: Inclusive Design for the Public Realm (Routledge, 2019)

"At a time when growing inequity is threatening our communities and too many public spaces are exclusionary by intent or neglect, this is a welcome and much-needed call-and guide-to action. Loebach, Little, Cox and Eubanks Owens have compiled an impressive and comprehensive collection of research-based knowledge and field-tested practice that makes a compelling case for the importance of public space in the lives of children and youth, and then provides pragmatic guidance and powerful examples for the positive and enduring impact of engaging young people in community-building processes."

Deputy Director, Office of Planning and Community Development, City of Seattle.

Former UNESCO Chair for Growing Up in Cities at Cornell University

Author of Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth: A Manual for Participation

"Jane Jacobs in her 1961 seminal book The Death and Life of Great American Cities states: "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." This handbook from editors Loebach, Little, Cox and Eubanks Owens on designing spaces for young people epitomizes these sentiments and brings our attention to the many years of theorising, planning and successful projects that have come before and can be the foundation for interrogation and provocation ahead. Imparting their shared knowledge, the authors, a collective of superstars and influencers in the field of youth and public space, have addressed these questions with a clear intention of igniting sparks, inspiring others, shifting attitudes and exemplifying the range of possibilities for the future. It needs to be on every bookcase and a must read for all academics, advocates and professionals working with young people."

Karen Malone

Professor of Education

Research Director, Department of Education

Faculty of Health, Arts and Design

Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

"The theme of the new Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People is more topical than ever: why and how the exclusion of children and young people can be turned to inclusion. The various chapters of the book show how young people can be active users, participants, decision makers and even builders of public spaces. The numerous real-life examples of youth participation projects in a variety of contexts present novel, yet tested approaches, that represent both bottom-up, self-initiated participation projects as well as more formal ones. It is finally time to take seriously the potential of young people to become game changers with unique abilities, skills and ideas."

Professor, Land Use Planning

Aalto University

Helsinki, Finland