Planning with Youth – In Action

Elizabeth Erickson, AICP, AIA, LEED AP ND

Planning ahead means planning for our children’s futures. The City of Bellingham shares some tips and tricks we’ve learned by incorporating youth into our long-range planning efforts in an effort to help them plan their own futures.

Equitable outreach is hard. We strive to get a wide range of input into our work, but some demographics are harder to reach than others. When we are planning decades ahead, it is critical that we engage with youth in particular. After all, the plans we create are going to impact them the most.

We’ve learned a lot working with youth on the Bellingham Plan, our Comprehensive Plan periodic update:

• Reach out to teachers early. | We worked with our local civics teachers at the start of the process and were able to schedule a full class session with each period at Bellingham High School. Teachers love to get creative if it makes things exciting and real-world for their students.
• Build off existing relationships. | A local middle school has a before-school club focused on tomorrow’s thinkers. Because of the connections we built within the community, we were invited to this group and heard some unique perspectives.
• Don’t over-simplify things.| Kids of all ages work best when they’re treated with respect. They understand more than you expect, and they respond well to thoughtful discussion prompts. We frequently got more in-depth feedback from kids than from adults with the same prompt.
• Provide a welcoming environment for kids. | There’s always something fun to do: a spinner wheel that leads to a question about their city, a drawing station, a winter scavenger hunt, prizes – we make sure kids are welcomed and even encouraged to participate even in more formal outreach events.

Let the Youth in Planning Task Force know what youth outreach you have done too. You never know – maybe one moment you foster will encourage the next generation of planners!

Images:

• Credit: City of Bellingham
• Content: City staff worked with high school students at the local Civics class. A Western Washington University planning student also assisted.

• Credit: City of Bellingham
• Content: Public open house events always have something fun for kids to do too. At this 2023 event, kids (and some adults!) drew their vision for Bellingham.