The YouthPower Story

How Adults Can Better Support Young People’s Sustained Participation in Community-Based Planning

Abstract

*Focus on the United States and Canada | Reflective Practice

This paper discusses the roles adults need to play to support youth as effective agents of change in their community. Case studies drawn from YouthPower, a community-service learning program in Holyoke, Massachusetts, demonstrate how the participatory planning and design work of young people can be extended, and adult behaviors and attitudes altered, through adult/youth collaboration on neighborhood and citywide improvement projects. The adult roles discussed include those of supporter, resource provider, power broker, and coordinator. We also consider how community planning involving youth can be realized and sustained through comprehensive and coordinated youth and youth/adult networks.