Planning Cities With Young People and Schools: Forging Justice, Generating Joy

Offering the overlooked but essential viewpoint of young people from low-income communities of color and their public schools, Planning Cities With Young People and Schools offers an urgently needed set of best-practice recommendations for urban planners to change the status quo and reimagine the future of our cities for and with young people. Working with more than 10,000 students over two decades from the San Francisco Bay Area, to New York, to Tohoku, Japan, this work produces a wealth of insights on issues ranging from environmental planning, housing, transportation, regional planning, and urban education.

Part I presents a theory of change for planning more equitable, youth-friendly cities by cultivating intergenerational communities of practice where young people work alongside city planners and adult professionals. Part II explores youth engagement in resilience, housing, and transportation planning through an analysis of literature and international examples of engaging children and youth in city planning. Part III speaks directly to practitioners, scholars, and students alike, presenting "Six Essentials for Planning Just and Joyful Cities" as necessary precursors to effective city planning with and for our most marginalized, children, youth, and public schools.

For academics, policy makers, and practitioners, this book raises the importance of education systems and young people as critical to urban planning and the future of our cities.

Deborah L. McKoy is the founding director of the UC Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools and adjunct professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning. Her research focuses on the intersection of city planning, public education, and young people’s experience of place. Deborah has a PhD from UC Berkeley, an MPA from Columbia University, and a BA from University at Albany.

Amanda Eppley is the associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools. Amanda is an experienced public school educator, and her research interests examine the reciprocal impacts of cities and schools for the social justice potential that emerges at their confluence. She has an MCP from UC Berkeley with a concentration in environmental planning and a BA in history and education from Swarthmore College.

Shirl Buss is the creative director of the UC Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools. As a designer, planner, and educator, she has directed programs, facilitated participatory design projects, and taught K-graduate students in universities, schools, museums, and informal settings for over 30 years. She holds an MArch and PhD from the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning.