Placemaking with Children and Youth

Victoria Derr is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at California State University Monterey Bay, where her teaching and research focus on the intersections between sustainable communities, environmental education, and social justice. From 2012-2016, she served as a co-coordinator of Growing Up Boulder at the University of Colorado. Louise Chawla is Professor Emerita in the Program in Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder. With degrees in Environmental Psychology and Education and Child Development, her research areas are children and nature, children in cities, participatory planning and design, and the development of committed action for the environment. Mara Mintzer is Director of Growing Up Boulder, a program in the Community Engagement Design and Research Center at University of Colorado Boulder. She writes and speaks internationally about engaging young voices in city planning. She also has designed and implemented many programs for under-represented children and families.

From the forward-thinking mind-set of creating sustainable future cities, this practical guide outlines how to engage youth in local research and action for environmental planning and design. Including case studies on child-friendly city initiatives, this title shares best practices for working ethically with children, and proposes cross-generational engagement, with attention to equity. * Public Art Review * This wonderful book recognizes that sustainable development calls for highly participatory local communities, including children and youth, who can cooperatively plan for and flexibly respond to environmental change. Based on this engaged view of citizenship, it offers a comprehensive range of practical methods for everyone. -- Roger Hart, Professor, Graduate Center of the City University of New York What an inspiring, fresh addition to the hallowed library of human habitat design! I am so grateful that this book has been written, with its guidance on how to engage kids, how to work in diverse urban environments, and its numerous case studies that can be replicated. Now, many more children can be assisted to grow into their full potential as community leaders and changemakers! * Mark Lakeman, Founder, The City Repair Project * Placemaking with Children and Youth makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature that focuses on the practice of place-based education. Even novices to this approach will find simple and straightforward tools capable of opening up the world of local inquiry and action to both themselves and their students. * Gregory A. Smith, Professor Emeritus, Lewis & Clark College *