The climate crisis demands innovative and imaginative solutions in how our cities are planned and designed to protect people and the planet. With children and young people having the most at stake from climate action, the youth inheriting the planet must be empowered to shape those solutions.
C40’s Youth Reinventing Cities programme empowers a new generation of leaders and promotes a more sustainable future for cities globally. Through the programme’s design competitions, global youth are learning about sustainable and inclusive urban practices and shaping a greener and more just urban future for all. Their ideas are shared with city leaders to inspire the future development of the competition sites.
50 global cities have now harnessed Youth Reinventing Cities as a tool to work with young people and reimagine urban areas. To date, more than 13,000 youth from over 1,500 schools and universities have submitted ideas that tackle city climate challenges and inform planning policies.
Students Reinventing Cities just launched its fourth global competition for university students and youth ages 18 and up to reimagine different neighbourhoods with green and thriving solutions – from improving active mobility to adding green and inclusive spaces – in 11 cities: Amman, Barcelona, Freetown, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Milan, Quito, Rome and Tshwane.
Schools Reinventing Cities, in collaboration with Minecraft Education, engages school students across the world in urban climate action through game-based learning in a custom Minecraft city. With 17 cities engaged to date, current challenges are engaging school students across New York, Tshwane, and Atlanta.
Read on for examples of real-life city challenges and students’ solutions:
Accessible, green and thriving neighbourhoods
In Amman, the city sought student ideas for greener and more accessible public spaces, with benches and play facilities, to enhance the quality of life. In New York’s Battle of the Boroughs, students will design solutions for equitable access to quality food, green space and entrepreneurship opportunities where they live.
Water safety and resilience
In Quito, students are developing a resilient housing model for communities affected by flooding along the Rio Monjas, the city’s most polluted river. In Jakarta and Lisbon, city governments are seeking youth ideas for public spaces that integrate drainage systems. In Buenos Aires, school students designed ideas for sustainable water management in their neighbourhoods.
Clean air
Schools Reinventing Cities saw brilliant ideas from students in Los Angeles for clean air zones in their city. Tshwane is gathering youth ideas that will inform the city strategy to reduce traffic and create people-centred streets. In Wuhan and Barcelona, students also developed solutions to improve transport and walkability.
For more information or to support the programme, reach out to reinventingcities@c40.org.
Hear from those involved: