TERRITORY NFP BRINGS WEST SIDE YOUTH TOGETHER TO DESIGN A NEW COMMUNITY
Territory NFP, a National Endowment for the Arts-funded project now located in the 5200 block of North Avenue, brought together approximately 50 teenagers from nine West Side community-based youth organizations to envision a community they would like to live in. They met in the auditorium of the Austin Branch Library for a program called Austin 2.0: People – Power – Change, an Intergenerational Design Charrette. It was a day of creative thinking, making connections, and intergenerational knowledge sharing to create a collective action plan for future investments in West Side neighborhoods. This is important because young people are usually left out of the decision-making processes about what young people want and need. Plus, it doesn’t take into consideration that young people grow into the adults who will inhabit the communities being created today.
The group met to discuss their purpose, how to analyze problems and reach consensus for solutions. Then, they broke up into several focus groups – charrettes – to refine their ideas. Finally, they came together to report their conclusions.
We spoke with Lawrence, a sophomore at Curie High School, Phillip, a junior at Prosser High School, and Shawn, a junior at Chicago Tech Academy. They are from different areas of the West Side, but had common complaints: few safe spaces for youth to gather and have fun or relax, and few recreational options available at their schools or in parks. None of them knew about the Madison Street Roller Skating Rink in Garfield Park, although they all recommended opening skating rinks and bowling alleys in their communities. They also mentioned the safety risks of going to parks, and the lack of restaurants or gathering places for teens to relax with friends. They said that clubs and activities other than athletics don’t exist at their schools.
The charrettes or breakout sessions studied maps of the West Side to visualize distances and travel challenges, created timelines for achieving progress, and considered recreational and cultural options they would like to see available. The young people meet on Thursday afternoons and Saturdays to continue their planning.
Territory is led by Helen Slade, Executive Director. She can be contacted at (773) 848-7368. The website may be accessed at www.territorychicago.org.
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The group met to discuss their purpose, how to analyze problems and reach consensus for solutions. Then, they broke up into several focus groups – charrettes – to refine their ideas. Finally, they came together to report their conclusions.
We spoke with Lawrence, a sophomore at Curie High School, Phillip, a junior at Prosser High School, and Shawn, a junior at Chicago Tech Academy. They are from different areas of the West Side, but had common complaints: few safe spaces for youth to gather and have fun or relax, and few recreational options available at their schools or in parks. None of them knew about the Madison Street Roller Skating Rink in Garfield Park, although they all recommended opening skating rinks and bowling alleys in their communities. They also mentioned the safety risks of going to parks, and the lack of restaurants or gathering places for teens to relax with friends. They said that clubs and activities other than athletics don’t exist at their schools.
The charrettes or breakout sessions studied maps of the West Side to visualize distances and travel challenges, created timelines for achieving progress, and considered recreational and cultural options they would like to see available. The young people meet on Thursday afternoons and Saturdays to continue their planning.
Territory is led by Helen Slade, Executive Director. She can be contacted at (773) 848-7368. The website may be accessed at www.territorychicago.org.
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