Here’s how DC’s youth are getting involved in urban planning
Teens from around the region recently built an exhibit at the National Building Museum to show what they know about city planning and design. It’s one of many examples of how local youth are plugging into the world of urban planning.
IWWL participants at a visit to the Washington DC Historical Society research about the history of different neighborhoods. Photo courtesy from the National Building Museum.
The high schoolers behind Investigating Where We Live: New Monuments Revealed, hailing from Maryland, Virginia, and DC, participated in a five-week summer program designed to teach them about, well, design. Throughout, they learned how to create clear and effective images for plans, drafted changes to one of DC’s traffic circles, and soaked up knowledge from experts from all over the planning field.
The IWWL program took the teens on an investigative journey of their city, leading to a new understanding of urban planning.
“The biggest impact the participants get is that they gain an awareness of cities,” said Andrew Costanzo, IWWL’s Outreach Programs Manager. “They realize that there are conscious choices being made, and that they can have a part in the conversations driving those choices.”
Students developed an appreciation for the built environment, and brought their photos, sketches, and observations to life by building an exhibit devoted to what they learned this summer.
The best way to learn is by doing
To get a sense of the entire planning process, IWWL teens focused on a new theme each week. In one week, students learned techniques for taking pictures that communicate information clearly. After all, professional planners have to be able to illustrate their talking points to a wide variety of audiences, and good photography skills go hand in hand with that.
Participants put their new photography skills and perspectives to use by going around Washington and photographing public spaces big and small. One day, they visited Arlington Cemetery and the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial; another day, they visited DuPont Circle and the National Japanese American Memorial for Patriotism in World War II (yes it is real and that is its actual title). Students workshopped and critiqued each other’s photos daily, and the cream of the crop now adorn the walls of their exhibit.
Students plan, sketch, and compare photographs to help design their own exhibit space. The students built the space to showcase what they learned this summer. Photo from the National Building Museum.
After a few weeks of picture taking, IWWL participants took part in series of design activities led by experts in the field.
One group worked together to imagine and draw plans for upgrades to Sheridan Circle, an underutilized circle on Massachusetts Avenue. They came up with lots of features to improve Sheridan Circle that would bring tears of joy to Jane Jacob’s eyes: new sidewalks and connections to other parts of the street, benches so people can sit and relax, and trees for more shade.
More and more, young people are tuning into planning
IWWL is just one example of the ways our region’s youth are getting involved in planning. The Building Museum runs other planning and architecture programs for youth like CityVision, which teaches students how to help shape their communities through design and talking to people in their communities.
Beyond the Building Museum, the Washington Architectural Foundation runs the Architecture in the Schools program that connects working architects with classrooms to teach construction concepts.
Even gardens in DC public schools are a big deal in that they are providing real opportunities for youth to get their hands dirty and participate in urban agriculture, which is something that some of the leading urban planners in the world are putting lots of thought into.
Urban planning can be overwhelming if you see it as a giant concept rather than a collection of actionable tasks, especially when you’re worried about zits or long division.
“Often times, a program like this is the first opportunity for youth and teens to think about urban planning and architecture,” said Costanzo of IWWL. “The built environment encompasses so much that it can be hard to wrap your brain around it.”
The new exhibit was designed and built completely by this summer’s Investigating Where We Live participants, aged 13-17. Photo by the author.
Programs like these teach young people about specific bits and pieces that help them to see the bigger picture, from like meeting with local residents, designers, and architects to sketching ideas and giving feedback.
Even for those who might not be all that interested in the planning profession, these programs give participants a good working knowledge of cities, and have better understandings of how the world around them takes shape.
Investigating Where We Live: New Monuments Revealed is open through June 5th, 2016.