This project shows how children and young people were able to use creative methods to produce a plan for their neighbourhood.
Children and young people are able to clearly articulate their experiences of their neighbourhood, produce ideas for how to shape their neighbourhood in the future, and prioritise what should happen to make their local area more child-friendly.
Coronavirus restrictions highlighted the importance of local areas to everyone, but especially to children and young people.
The project researchers worked with children and young people in local schools and community groups of Grangetown in Cardiff to explore how lockdown had affected them, and to develop a plan for their neighbourhood.
The children of Ninian Park Primary School in Cardiff engaged in a series of workshops (Credit project team)
Children and young people used creative methods to think about their neighbourhood in the future, including mapping the local areas to find out which places they liked and disliked. The research team then helped them to turn this into their own plan. The children who participated in this project told the team that this was the first time anyone had asked them about their experiences of where they live.
The children and young people’s plan – ‘A Grangetown to Grow Up In’ – launched on 2 February 2023. The plan is accompanied by a toolkit for engaging children and young people in making plans.