Co-creating Just and Sustainable Cities With Children
How can we create more just and sustainable cities from the children’s point of view? How can we produce knowledge on our cities in collaboration with children? How can we as scholars, urban planners or activists overcome our adultcentrism? What is the pandemic teaching us about justice and sustainability from the children’s point of view?
These were some of the questions addressed four days after World Children’s Day, on the 24th of November, with Kitti Baracsi, Tuline Gülgönen and 63 other participants at the 11th UrbanA CoCo. Kitti is an educator, researcher, activist specialising in critical pedagogies and collaborative methods, her work involves children and young people on projects addressing urban conflicts. Her work can be seen at periferias dibujadas (drawn peripheries). Tuline Gülgönen is a researcher and filmmaker. She carries out multidisciplinary investigation on the perception and engagement of children in the city in various urban contexts. She recently created the documentary Ciudad Grande (Big City) about Mexico city.
Kitti and Tuline’s presentation outlined the core concepts of their work in an initial 15 minute presentation (slide here), then went into greater detail in the Listening Room to explain some case studies for about half the guests. Both sections were followed by a short question and answer round. Their work advocates children’s involvement in urban issues and they showed examples of addressing urban conflicts together with them. They believe that children’s experiences often touch the most problematic issues of our urban contexts.
Experiences:
Fare rione, fare scuola (Making neighbourhood, making school), Orangotango. Kollektiv für kritische Bildung und Kreativen Protest, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Schools of Tomorrow Programme, Naples, Italy 2018. Watch one of the animations.
Albayzín, patrimonio humano (Albayzín, human heritage) is a collaborative research project of the C.E.I.P. Gómez Moreno learning community in Granada, Spain, 2018–2020, coordinated by a group of researcher-parents of the school. Watch the videos of the project, including the cartoon prepared by the children on the past, present and future of the neighbourhood.
El Albayzín de las niñas (The Albayzín of the children) was a project of Ajuntamiento Albaicín (Neighbours’ platform) that aimed at reflecting and improving green spaces of the neighbourhood together with children in Granada, Spain in 2018.
Jugar la ciudad (Play the city), collective elaboration of a play spaces assessment tool.
Counter-cartographies. This is Not an Atlas This Is Not an Atlas gathers counter-cartographies from all over the world and shows how maps are created and transformed as a part of political struggle, for critical research or in art and education. Watch this quick introduction to critical cartography and collective mapping. If you wish to learn more, watch This is a documentary on counter-cartographies
In breakout rooms, groups of 4–5 responded in Harvesting Slides to the following question:
- How could you, or how are you incorporating the children’s point of view in your work, activism etc
Kitti and Tuline’s aim was to learn from others’ experiences who work with children and to create alliances along intersecting issues with those who work on other questions of urban justice and sustainability. Some key insights from around the world were shared in the process. In finishing, the guests invited participants to co-create an UrbanA wiki entry on Children and urbanism (If interested, contact: periferiasdibujadas@riseup.net and tulinegulgonen@gmail.com).
Key Insights shared:
- Publication: “Co-Creation in Theory and Practice, Exploring Creativity in the Global North and South”, Eds C. Horvath, J. Carpenter (2020)
- City District Sagene, Norway (https://medium.com/hope-grows-in-the-garden (Check for example about creating a new place in a «Hidden park» and the big turtle)
- Upcoming Webinar “I see something that you don’t see! > mapping and analysis supporting youth participation” (November 30)
- Mara Mintzer (Colorado), co-founder and director of Growing Up Boulder (GUB). Her TED talk on: “How Kids Can Help Design Cities”. Her book: “Placemaking With Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities” (2018)
- Eszter Jákli (Budapest), landscape architect, PhD dissertation in progress: “Analysis of the landscape architectural opportunities of environmental education on the open spaces of primary schools in Budapest”.
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