Engagement with teens could boost happiness. Are enough developers talking to the kids?

Teenagers in the UK are among the unhappiest in Europe, after a report from Unicef ranked the UK near the bottom of 36 countries for child wellbeing and teenager happiness. The Unicef report saw the UK coming joint second from last (tied with Chile) for teenager wellbeing, with girls in the UK much more likely to report unhappiness than boys.

 

Could an increase in youth engagement on development sites make a difference? Among the Unicef report policy recommendations, there’s a call to give agency to children and teens through engagement on development plans, climate adaptation solutions and other decisions that affect their future lives.

 

Research from Grosvenor in 2020 shows that 89% of young adults in the UK aged 16-18 have never been asked about their neighbourhood, but experts say that providing meaningful opportunities to engage and take part in decision-making can transform teenage lives.

 

Pioneering work to engage young people has been taking place on projects by the London Legacy Development Company, The Earls Court Development Company, Poplar Harca and Quintain, who have all invested in youth engagement on specific sites in recent years.

 

 

Dinah Bornat has been leading the engagement work of the Public Realm Inclusivity Panel at Earls Court, which sees teenagers aged 15+ take part alongside a diverse group of local people including adults.

“Listening to young people means you take them seriously and that’s what they want and also what they need,” says Bornat, co-founder of ZCD Architects and author of the Voice Opportunity Power engagement toolkit for young people aged 11-18.

 

“We also have to learn how to do this properly, on their terms, not just ours,” Bornat adds. That often means paying for young people’s time, offering training and support and ensuring their contribution is valued by the wider team.

 

Niamh, who participates in the Earls Court Public Realm Inclusivity panel, says: “The idea that everybody gets paid isn’t so much about how much or whatever, it’s about every single person in the room is equal to one another. As a young person, you hold space… It’s nice to know that our contributions are being heard by the people who are able to implement change.”

 

 

Djibril, another member of the team, says: “One of the reasons why it was so good to get paid is when I was applying through UCAS, for universities… but also CVs and things in the future.”

 

Dr Julia King, director of Social Place, has also underlined the importance of a mutually beneficial arrangement when it comes to teen engagement. King worked with a group of teenage girls for the London Legacy Development Corporation to shape the design brief for Waterden Green, a space within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, along with Olivia Theocharides-Feldmen and Make Space for Girls. The group of teens were paid for their input, with findings gathered into a report and the final design brief.

 

King says the offer of pay and training can shift the process from one of engagement to skills and education, which can unlock funding from construction training budgets. The fact that King has been asked to supply letters of reference to those who’ve gone on to find jobs speaks to the potential of engagement to deliver more than just feedback.  

 

While youth engagement is growing, this type of specialist work is not yet the norm in property. With the urgent need to tackle teen unhappiness and boost construction training and skills, there’s an opportunity for the property sector to do more.

 

 

Dr Philip Goodwin, chief executive of the United Kingdom Committee for Unicef, says “The latest figures from Unicef’s report card give us a deeply concerning insight into just how much UK children are struggling.

 

“Our teenagers are reporting some of the lowest life satisfaction levels, which must be a wake-up call for the government. However, action to tackle these issues is not coming fast enough.”

 

The report focusses on three dimensions of child wellbeing: Mental health, physical health and the development of skills.

 

Recommendations related to the built environment include the provision of good public transport, leisure facilities and green spaces to promote physical activity to tackle obesity and mental health.

 

Traffic calming is also mentioned with road traffic accidents as the leading cause of child mortality, with calls to reduce speed limits in built-up areas to reduce fatalities.

 

The report also calls for a reduction in environmental pollutants, especially air pollutants, chemicals and microplastics. There’s also a push to ensure that children have access to affordable and healthy food.

 

In addition, Unicef raises concern that the demographic transition to an older population risks making facilities and services for young people scarcer.

 

Involving teens in the solutions to these built environment issues might yield surprising results and give young people an increased sense of purpose, belonging and wellbeing.

 

Make Space for Girls has been involved in a number of projects co-designed with teenage girls, including the new Brickfields Park in Bath, which reopened recently with a five-way swing, social seating, somersault bars and reduced hedgerow heights to improve sightlines.

 

Martha, a teen who worked on the project, says, “It’s amazing to be able to say, ‘I helped with that!’ This whole project has made me want to get out into parks more.”

 

Find out more Dinah Bornat, ZCD Architects and Dr Julia King, Director of Social Place, will both be speaking at the Festival of Place on 2 July. Tickets on sale now.