Engaging Racially and Ethnically Marginalized Youth as Stakeholders of Outdoor Public Environments

Marginalized youth represent a stakeholder group whose views are often overlooked in decisions directly influencing outdoor public environments. Given that urban youth often rely on these spaces for physical and emotional well-being, social interactions, and both cultural and social identity, their input should be incorporated into the design process of these spaces. Yet, the inclusion of youth into the design process is not easy. Society typically depicts youth as a vulnerable population who must be protected; youth are also regarded as a group with limited knowledge or interest to be informed collaborators, which has traditionally limited their ability to participate in decision making. Marginalized youth face an additional set of challenges in terms of their involvement in community-level decision-making processes, such as intimidation and discrimination by those in power, a lack of economic resources, and structural barriers. This chapter examines how community planners can foster the inclusion of marginalized youth into the design of outdoor public environments. In doing so, the chapter answers four key questions: (1) How do marginalized youth benefit from inclusion in the design process? (2) How does society benefit from the inclusion of marginalized youth in public design processes? (3) What does an inclusive design process look like? (4) What can community planners do to ensure that the voices of marginalized youth are heard during the design process?