We Asked, You Answered: Youth Engagement Trends in Washington

Last month, APA WA’s Youth in Planning Task Force surveyed planners across the state, asking them how they engage youth. This month, we’re sharing preliminary findings from our survey. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and/or shared it with colleagues. We appreciate you all!

After sharing the survey in the October edition of the Washington Planner, promoting the survey throughout the APA WA fall conference, and reaching out to Youth in Planning’s network of planners from across Washington State, we received 35 responses to the survey. Respondents were asked to share their level of involvement with youth engagement in planning; the pie chart below shows the mix of responses, on a scale of 0-5.

Question: How much involvement have you had in youth engagement and planning?
(Responses provided on a scale of 0-5)

Top 3 Ways Washington Planners Have Engaged Youth

When asked about how they have engaged youth, respondents had the opportunity to select multiple examples. Below are the top three responses.

1. Chatting with youth about planning – 69% of respondents indicated they’ve done this.
2. Creating hands-on activities for youth to share their ideas – 57%
3. Working with teachers to plan and/or deliver guest lectures or curriculum to their students – 49%

Other youth engagement activities included “Collaborating with youth on their own planning/outreach” (23%), “Sharing graphic novels or other youth-friendly introductions to planning” (20%), “Social media posts directed toward youth” (20%), and “Producing videos targeted at youth” (9%).

Next Steps & How to Learn More

This month’s article shares only a preview of what the Youth in Planning Task Force has learned from the Trends in Youth Engagement survey. We also received detailed examples of fantastic youth engagement activities from 20 different planners, and we look forward to highlighting some of these examples in coming months. The Youth in Planning Task Force will be diving deeper into the survey results this month and using the responses to inform our committee’s work plan for 2025.

If you’d like to learn more about the Youth in Planning Task Force, we invite you to join an upcoming Youth in Planning monthly meeting! We meet virtually on the second Tuesday of each month, from 8:30-9:30am. Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 12. Contact [email protected] if you’d like the meeting link.

You can also visit the Youth in Planning website. The website includes links to Washington, By and By, a graphic novel about community planning in Washington State, Tips & Tricks for Planners wanting to engage youth, and examples of how planners across the state have engaged youth.