Youth Engagement Consulting
Youth Engagement Services, customized to your project.
We help you better connect with youth and build youth-friendly spaces, programs and services.
Land-Use & Strategic Planning
We engage youth in long-term planning projects, like Official Plan Reviews, Secondary Plans and Master Plans. Youth are the ones who will be living and working in these areas by the time the plans come to fruition and offer perspectives and insights that other age demographics can’t. Cater directly to your future users.
In the fall of 2022, Urban Minds hosted a series of eight pop-ups to engage youth throughout the Jane Finch community.
As part of the youth engagement process of the Markville Secondary Plan Study, Urban Minds hosted a visioning workshop to over 50 students.
Placemaking and Design
Youth bring new ideas to public spaces that benefit many users. Incorporating youth perspectives through effective engagement strategies gives your design project an edge. We deliver these perspectives directly to your project to inform a culturally fresh and relevant project for your community or client.
#WouldYouRatherTO is a physical-digital interactive art experience that brings people together through friendly banter.
In the spring of 2024, Urban Minds hosted a workshop for RioCan and kg&a to engage youth in the Yonge Eglinton neighbourhood on how Yonge Eglinton Centre could be shaped to include a space for youth.
Urban Minds partnered with the Infrastructure Institute to engage youth in the +(plus) 2.0 Exhibition through a model-making workshop during the DesignTO Festival.
Parks and Recreation
Designing accessible and widely used parks and recreation opportunities is key to effective communities. Most of these projects account for small children and adults, but often skip the entire age group in between: youth. We engage youth to ensure youth-friendly parks and amenities, so your project sees high usability across age groups and over time.
On Friday, September 17, 2021, Urban Minds hosted a Park(ing) Day event outside 105 Bond St, inviting students and visitors to take a “Brake at Bond”.
Active Transportation
Creating accessible, safe and efficient networks means incorporating perspectives from groups who aren’t driving. Youth are a key demographic in garnering support for active transportation because most of them can’t drive and youth are increasingly choosing not to drive in cities. Youth support for active transportation now locks in this mobility choice for the future of our cities.
Beginning in 2023, Urban Minds has been collaborating with Bike Share Toronto as part of a consultant team led by O2 Planning and Design to engage communities in expanding the bike share system into new neighbourhoods.
Centennial College partnered with The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) and Urban Minds to engage students and staff at Progress Campus during March and April of 2023.
Guelph Active Transportation Wayfinding Strategy
In the fall of 2024, Urban Minds partnered with Alta Planning + Design Canada to engage residents about their experience with active transportation infrastructure and wayfinding in Guelph.
Climate and Health
The built environment is an important, yet under-researched, determinant of youth’s physical and mental health. Thoughtful and youth-friendly urban design solutions play a significant role in addressing the effects of the pandemic, climate anxiety and social isolation on the rise among many young people.
In the spring of 2023, Urban Minds partnered with researchers from the University of Waterloo, the University of Toronto, and Western University to conduct a research study on youth health, urban design, and high-rise living.
“Future Cities, Future Us” was designed to build a youth-led, intergenerational exchange of ideas with the goal to create a collective, actionable vision of future cities. Ideas were submitted by youth to build a physical and digital display for the 2019 Future Cities Canada Summit and Community Studio at Evergreen Brick Works.
#10veyourcity Social Media Challenge
#10veyourcity was a 10-day social media challenge for youth and adults to show love for their cities and the people around them as they stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Annual Design Jam
Every year we run a Design Jam through our 1UP Youth City Builders Program that brings dozens of high school students together to ideate and prototype designs for a client’s project, facilitated by industry professionals. The project to receive this free youth engagement service is selected by application each year.
RioCan Yonge Eglinton Centre
In the spring of 2024, Urban Minds hosted a workshop for RioCan and kg&a to engage youth in the Yonge Eglinton neighbourhood on how Yonge Eglinton Centre could be shaped to include a space for youth.
Jane Finch Initiative
In the fall of 2022, Urban Minds hosted a series of eight pop-ups to engage youth throughout the Jane Finch community.
Healthy Youth in High Rises
In the spring of 2023, Urban Minds partnered with researchers from the University of Waterloo, the University of Toronto, and Western University to conduct a research study on youth health, urban design, and high-rise living.
Bike Share Toronto
Beginning in 2023, Urban Minds has been collaborating with Bike Share Toronto as part of a consultant team led by O2 Planning and Design to engage communities in expanding the bike share system into new neighbourhoods.
+(plus) 2.0 Youth Workshop
Urban Minds partnered with the Infrastructure Institute to engage youth in the +(plus) 2.0 Exhibition through a model-making workshop during the DesignTO Festival.
Urban Canvas
“Urban Canvas” is about the potential of public art and creative urban design focusing on engaging and empowering youth. A panel discussion on the transformative power of public art and creative mediums in urban design to engage and empower youth.
Centennial Commutes
Centennial College partnered with The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) and Urban Minds to engage students and staff at Progress Campus during March and April of 2023.
Markham Centre Secondary Plan
As part of the “Visioning” phase of the updates to the Markham Centre Secondary Plan, Urban Minds hosted a 90-minute online Design Jam where Markham youth were asked to reimagine the future of Markham Centre.
Would You Rather TO
#WouldYouRatherTO is a physical-digital interactive art experience that brings people together through friendly banter.
Markville Secondary Plan
As part of the youth engagement process of the Markville Secondary Plan Study, Urban Minds hosted a youth visioning workshop to a group of over 50 students at a local high school.
City of Markham Strategic Plan
2020-2023
“What’s your pick?” That was the question our team asked youth at pop-up events to gather their thoughts on the top priority for the future of the City of Markham.
City of Mississauga Official Plan Review
In November 2020, Urban Minds partnered with the City of Mississauga to host the ‘Our Future City’ event for Mississauga youth to participate in their Official Plan Review.
Would You Rather Markham
#WouldYouRatherMC was a physical-digital interactive art experience that brought people together to discuss the future of Markham Centre – what we now call downtown Markham.
Brake at Bond: Park(ing) Day
On Friday, September 17, 2021, Urban Minds hosted a Park(ing) Day event outside 105 Bond St, inviting students and visitors to take a “Brake at Bond”.
105 Bond-ing
In June 2021, Urban Minds teamed up with Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) to deliver a second year of our virtual “Weekly Warm-ups” series.
#10veyourcity Social Media Challenge
#10veyourcity was a 10-day social media challenge for youth and adults to show love for their cities and the people around them as they stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Future Cities, Future Us
“Future Cities, Future Us” was designed to build a youth-led, intergenerational exchange of ideas with the goal to create a collective, actionable vision of future cities. Ideas were submitted by youth to build a physical and digital display for the 2019 Future Cities Canada Summit and Community Studio at Evergreen Brick Works.
Guelph Active Transportation Wayfinding Strategy
In the fall of 2024, Urban Minds partnered with Alta Planning + Design Canada to engage residents about their experience with active transportation infrastructure and wayfinding in Guelph. In particular, our team designed family-friendly pop-up activities and heard from high school students through a group bike ride and workshop.
Cities for Youth Toolkit
Your guide to best practices for engaging youth in urban planning.
