It is often a special challenge to make young people participate in an urban regeneration process. Traditional (Danish) methods such as public meetings, citizens groups, questionnaires etc. do not motivate the young people as much as adults. Besides that, young people lack political influence and it can be fruitful to consult them when you are making decisions on the public spaces they use and young activities in general. This is why there is a need to experiment with new methods.

In the BY X project young people from Nørrebro - Copenhagen worked together with the architect firm NORD to develop new ideas to public urban spaces such as parks and squares in their neighbourhood. The project has several aims. It is both that the young people should learn more about the city and that the city should learn from the young peoples way to use and think of the city. It is also an integration project, since most of the participants have immigrant background and are seldom heard in the Danish society.

The course of the project was during six weeks with start and closing events. The young people worked on 3 different public spaces in a process of development in their neighbourhood. BY X is the product of cooperation between the Municipality of Copenhagen, The Urban Regeneration Programme in Mimersgadekvarteret and the NORD-architects.

In the BY X project young people have used the city as a multi-disciplinary education-platform in the development of design suggestions to three public spaces. They have made analysis and registered the urban qualities, they developed ideas and made collages and build architecture models of their suggestions. Finally, they learned how to present their work and argue for the projects.

Young people at the age of 12-18.

The project combines learning process with a genuine wish to use the young peoples ideas in further on in the planning process. Besides learning to think creatively and designing urban public spaces the young people also learned what is possible and not possible in a political process of designing and creating new space. The young participants are now more qualified to participate in the urban regeneration process. This will be possible since a Youth Council has been created right after the end of the BY X project.

The visible results of the project are the models, posters and a presentation of the young peoples ideas. These ideas were presented for the mayor for children and young people Bo Asmus Kjeldgaard of Copenhagen and finally for the public.

The project benefitted the young participants. it has also been a contribution to the ongoing public space projects of the urban regeneration and hence it has benefitted the whole neighbourhood.

The municipality of Copenhagen + Områdefornyelsen i Mimersgadekvarteret (Urban Regeneration Programme).

NORD
Meinungsgade 8D, 2th
DK - 2200 Copenhagen N
Denmark
Johannes Pedersen, tel. 0045 33690908

Områdefornyelsen i Mimersgadekvarteret
Nannasgade 13
DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Denmark
Peter Christensen, tel. 0045 35831600

26/08/2006

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Integration of social groups

Young people