Youth Visions for Sustainable Urban Futures

The "Youth Visions for Sustainable Urban Futures" event centers on integrating young people's ideas into discussions about making cities sustainable, resilient, and inclusive in response to climate change. This event will gather city planners, environmental experts, and policymakers worldwide to exchange ideas and co-design ideal urban futures that are adaptable to climate challenges and cater to the younger generation.

Central to the event's agenda is the work of the Children, Cities, and Climate (CCC) Action Lab, a global initiative spearheaded by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in collaboration with YLabs, C40, and UrbanBetter. The CCC Action Lab focuses on innovative research and practical projects that merge young people’s perspectives for ideal urban futures with informed policy engagement and advocacy. Key activities of the action Lab include co-benefit modelling research, real-time surveys during extreme climate events such as high air pollution, severe floods and heatwaves, co-design labs where young people co-design future cities, and evidence-informed urban planning support.

This event will build on the work of the CCC Action Lab. It will include presentations about the research and projects done by Action Lab, complemented by discussions that are both youth-facilitated and expert-informed. The event aims to co-create visions for healthier and more sustainable urban futures, emphasizing young people’s critical role in shaping these futures.

The event will incorporate generative AI tools to co-design art that captures the lived experiences of young people in cities impacted by climate change, as well as their visions for an ideal urban future emphasizing health and sustainability. The agenda will be shaped through active discussions centered on these artworks, focusing on the challenges, enablers, and strategies necessary to transition from the current realities to the envisioned ideal urban areas.

The presence of policymakers at the event is particularly significant, not just for highlighting the commitment to transform discussions into actionable policies, but also to provide valuable advice, bridging the gap between the aspirations of the youth and the practicalities of urban governance in the context of climate change in cities.
Overall, the event is dedicated to amplifying the lived experiences of youth in climate-impacted cities and co-designing cities, marking a significant move towards a youth-led sustainable future city.