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Hear Me! Gen Z’ers with Millenials’ Voices

10/19/2015

By Miguel A. Vazquez, AICP with notes from Linda C. Dalton, PhD, FAICP

From left to right, Maiti King, Miguel A. Vazquez and Zelia Gonzalez

Young voices returned to the 2015 American Planning Association California Chapter's Annual Conference in Oakland California. This year's theme "Rooted in Authenticity" was the perfect backdrop to highlight the amazing work that young social entrepreneurs--who belong to Generation Z--are doing in the Sacramento area. Maiti King and Zelia Gonzales, leaders from the Sacramento Young Feminists Alliance, spent the morning of October 5 sharing insights about their authentic approach to unite youth from around Sacramento. Following a brief video interview about youth engagement with three of their friends, they lead a robust conversation about ways to engage youth in planning processes. Linda Dalton from the California Planning Roundtable was in attendance and was very kind to share her summary notes for this post:

Success Stories

Passion about a particular cause that affects particular youth personally – e.g., environmental activism, feminism, social justice
Peer to peer learning
Peer recruitment for continuity over time – inspiring the next group of students
Opportunities to learn and practice leadership, communication, persuasion, organization
Opportunities for real impact – not ‘just a project’
Full-time funded staff support for hands-on assistance
Public agency and consulting firm internships for high school students
City of Sacramento, ”Summer at City Hall” – leadership development and internship (focused on under-represented populations), with stipend and academic credit
City of Monterey, “Volunteer” program – but not sustained
County youth commissions – e.g,. El Dorado County
U.C. Davis Extension program support

Issues and Challenges

Reaching across section of students – e.g., students in AP classes are privileged by their backgrounds and non-representative; 4-H students are more likely from families of farm owners and managers than workers
Focusing on activities that can be accomplished within a school year (less than 10 months)
Sustaining youth engagement from year to year when graduating students move on to college
Funding to support youth engagement – staffing, activities like workshops, summer camps
Retaining commitment of youth who leave when they go to college and don’t return afterward to more rural areas

Elizabeth Yee, Assistant Planner for the City of Manteca, enjoyed the Salon session and shared the following reflection:

"Although, I am only a generation older than Gen Z'ers, I still sometimes forget that they are searching for a voice and place in their community too. The presentation was a good reminder that, when we do our jobs, we are really planning for the next generations and their input is not to be ignored."

The session entitled "Hear Me! Gen Z’ers with Millenials’ Voices" was organized by LUPA team member Miguel A. Vazquez. Maiti King produced the video below which is posted with her permission.

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surveying the street to improve community health

8/10/2015

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Have you ever wondered who makes the decisions of how your community is built? Or why it’s said that where you live affects how long you live? During the fourth session of BHC ECV’s Youth Summer Program 2015, eleven young women and men learned various answers to these questions. Through the lens of land use planning, they were able to see the connection between the places where they live and community health. They also learned how to get involved in the decision making processes of community health. The three-hour session was held on July 23rd at the Mecca Library in Riverside County.

LUPA’s team members, Miguel Vazquez and Daisy Ramirez, lead a discussion about the importance of knowing why land use planning is a key ingredient for building healthy communities. They began the session with the question: “If you had a super power to change your community, what would it be and why?” The participant’s answers ranged from having the ability to communicate effectively to having the intelligence to make a difference. As the youth became immersed with basic components of land use planning and the importance of thinking analytically to solve community problems, it became apparent that all of them were already equipped with many of those “super powers.”

While analyzing the natural and built environment through a series of aerial maps of the Mecca Library, the youth began using planning terms to describe what they observe on a daily basis in their own neighborhoods. For example, terms such as “circulation” and “open space” were used to describe the lack of sidewalks and roads needed for adequate transportation in the community. To assist them with this conversation, one of the tools the LUPA team created for this workshop was a word cloud with basic land use planning words that were integrated throughout the session.

This workshop was particularly relevant for the LUPA team as the youth participants were able to use and test the newly developed Walkability Assessment Checklist (WAC) that the Department of Public Health has created as part of its Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 1 grant activities.

Although the sun burned brightly and the temperature reached well above the 100 degree mark, the youth walked bravely into the summer heat to assess the walkability environment around the Mecca Library. This activity was intended to further emphasize the importance of understanding the natural and built environment’s components through observation. This simple action is the first step into identifying the positive and negative effects that both environments can have on any community. Equipped with a neon-yellow safety vest, a clip board and water, the youth assessed two blocks along Mecca’s 66th Avenue and marked their checklist, noted observations, developed recommendations and included photographs of their findings.

Through a collaborative partnership with the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, the students were introduced to ESRI Story Maps. This great resource will allow them to effectively present their information by combining data, maps and stories. With the guidance of Sergio Cuellar, from UC Davis, and the LUPA team, the youth will be putting together a Story Map that will highlight key findings from the walkability assessment in the following weeks.

The youth learned that those who know planning can be powerful and that small steps can make a difference. The act of picking up litter, for example, can be a simple, but effective way to get started. This is something the youth did after identifying a discarded cardboard sheet along the sidewalk during the walk audit. After folding it, carrying it and putting it in the recycling bin, they cheered with excitement for their small, but great improvement of community health. They unexpectedly demonstrated using one of their superpowers: the power of leadership.

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LUPA TEAM TO TEST WALKABILITY CHECKLIST AT UPCOMING WORKSHOP

7/17/2015

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In partnership with Building Healthy Communities Eastern Coachella Valley (BHC ECV) and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, the LUPA team will introduce the “world” of land use planning to a selected group of youth on July 23, 2015 at the Libray in Mecca, CA. The three-hour workshop will include a walking expedition around the library. The students will have an opportunity to test the Walkability Assessment Checklist (WAC) developed by the County of Riverside Department of Public Health (DOPH). DOPH will use this tool as part of the implementation of its Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 1 grant around schools in the cities of Indio and Perris, CA.

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LUPA BOXES STIR 3RD GRADERS CURIOSITY ABOUT PLANNING

7/2/2015

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About two weeks ago, LUPA's team member Miguel A. Vazquez, borrowed LUPA's traveling art exhibit for a day to create a conversation around land use planning with his son's 3rd grade class. The three giant boxes, painted by LUPA students from Coachella Valley High School, were part of Ms. Perez's career day at Alcott Elementary in Riverside, CA. Read this article to learn how they were incorporated into a fun planning activity.

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lupa students present at national innovative communities conference

7/1/2015

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Last Tuesday, after 3 weeks of laborious preparation, four students from the City of Coachella found themselves rehearsing as they traveled to the City of Ontario where they were scheduled to speak during the National 2015 Partners for Innovative Communities (PIC) Conference. Nervous but excited, Karla Martinez , Alejandra Rodriguez, Jatzel Garcia and Richard Tapia shared with a lively audience what they learned through their involvement with the award-winning Land Use Planning Awareness (LUPA) project.

During the breakout session entitled, “Building Healthy Communities through Land Use Planning Awareness”, they walked the audience through a series of slides highlighting how to use critical thinking skills to solve community problems and also about the basic components of city planning. After sharing their CVLink photovoice and an overview of what LUPA is all about, the youth lead the audience through an interactive art activity in which 5 teams drew their ideal communities on butcher paper. The session concluded with a robust conversation about the 5 different designs and how they incorporated health considerations into each of the team’s concepts.

Mario Saucedo, Chairman for the North Redlands Visioning Committee and the Common Vision Coalition, who attended the session, commended the youth for their participation in the LUPA Project and for their dedication to make the eastern Coachella Valley a healthier place to live.

Not many high school students would volunteer one of their summer days to share their experience at an innovation conference, but this dedicated group of students was eager to take on the challenge. The LUPA team is proud of them for their dedication and hard work. They added value to the PIC conference which draws hundreds of attendees each year. They all come together from across the nation to gain useful information, to identify valuable resources and to learn from innovators who share tools for community empowerment like Karla, Alejandra, Jatzel and Richard.

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lupa project wins apa ca award

7/1/2015

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The LUPA team is thrilled with the news that LUPA has been selected as the American Planning Association California Chapter (APA CA) 2015 Award of Excellence recipient for Community Outreach. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the planning field and honors innovative plans and projects, distinguished APA members, lay contributors to planning and achievements of local APA California Sections. The award will be presented during the APACA State Conference that will take place October 4, 2015 in the City of Oakland.

To learn more about the award please visit the APACA website

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Hear Me! Gen Z’ers with Millenials’ Voices

surveying the street to improve community health

LUPA TEAM TO TEST WALKABILITY CHECKLIST AT UPCOMING WORKSHOP

LUPA BOXES STIR 3RD GRADERS CURIOSITY ABOUT PLANNING

lupa students present at national innovative communities conference

lupa project wins apa ca award

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