Services
Adult needs are typically at the forefront of community development decisions, which has left young people lacking spaces they need to be healthy and well such as non-auto transportation and public spaces where they feel like they belong. In order to create cities, suburbs, and towns that are more supportive of youth wellbeing, it is essential to include their perspectives in design processes.
We equip adult leaders to engage youth in designing and advocating for a healthier built environment.
Trainings
Audiences: Professionals in Architecture, Planning, and Community Development fields
Resources
Audiences: Educators, School Administrators and Youth Program Leaders
Meet Your Instructor
MELODY GIBSON
Melody Gibson is the Youth Initiatives Director at the Civic Design Center where she developed the youth education programs Design Your Neighborhood (DYN) and the Nashville Youth Design Team (NYDT). After receiving a Bachelor's of Architecture at University of Tennessee, Melody developed her unique passion for empowering youth to help shape the spaces they inhabit when she taught high school math. She then pursued a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction to deepen her interdisciplinary work of pre-college architecture and planning curriculum development.
Trainings
Centering belonging in the professional pipeline
As minority groups are currently underrepresented in the Planning and Architecture practice, intentional engagement to youth at an early age is essential in helping diversify the profession. This professional development session explores strategies for providing this exposure and promoting a sense of belonging for youth of different backgrounds in the built environment.
Virtual Course: Culturally Responsive K-12 Education for Planning/Architecture
2 hours
Recommended for anyone wanting to use the Educational Resources
Cost: $450 (+ travel and expenses if applicable)
Resources
Created in Nashville | Adapted for your Community
Our educational resources include project-based learning curriculums that provide baseline knowledge about urban planning, architecture, and civic action so our next generation can have the knowledge and tools to advocate for their community’s needs and be civically engaged. The projects are aligned with required learning standards and support STEM education.
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These activities introduce youth to thinking about how the built environment impacts their wellbeing.
Identity Brainstorm - This activity asks students to explore the impact that their neighborhood has on their own identity.
Neighborhood Walk - This activity introduces students to the physical form and characteristics of a neighborhood and asks them to make connections between the built environment and youth wellness.
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These are hands-on workshops that work well for extra-curricular programs, STEM, and Visual Arts classes. Packages for these workshops include a one-hour virtual facilitator training, PDF project guides, a facilitator presentation, and optional reusable project materials.
DASHville - DASHville explores how a lack of affordable housing impacts residents. Students are challenged to design and build housing that includes sustainability features while working within a budget.
Dream City - Dream City asks youth to design an ideal city for only youth that includes spaces that support different areas of their wellbeing such as social, emotional, and physical health.
Cost: $1,400 with materials and $400 without
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These are 10-hour long projects that are designed to be taught by teachers in Humanities, Visual Arts, and STEM classes. Our staff will collaborate with your team to customize these projects to specific needs for your community.
Costs
Full Package: $4,000
Curriculum for all projects - PDF and online versions
4 Hour In-person or Virtual Training for teachers and supporting administration
Video Shorts for individual project support
Promotional Materials to market the projects to schools
Templates for program management