Urban Sports Challenge ERASMUS+

Head of Project
Dr. Karen Petry 

Project Staff
Sally-Ann Jennifer Fischer
Kaija Ruck

Research Period
September 2024 - December 2026

Partner

• 3X3 Unites, The Netherlands
• Brave, Belgium
• TSVE 1890 Bielefeld e.V., Germany

The participation of children and young people in the design of public spaces is lacking in many European cities, despite increasing efforts to place the needs of local users at the centre of urban planning. Young people's civic engagement can be tokenistic and fail because young people do not recognise the facilities as 'for them' and continue to occupy their own 'in-between' spaces where they feel comfortable. In addition, ongoing urban development and densification often leads to sports facilities in particular being relocated to the outskirts of the city.

The aim of the Urban Sports Challenge project is to empower young people to redefine their environment where they feel safe, welcome and in 'their' space. Through collaboration, the project seeks to enable and support young people to lead the design and delivery of three urban spaces based on their needs.

The project addresses two interrelated goals: Transforming the infrastructure and promoting young people's active participation in the public sphere. By fostering co-creation, it will ensure that urban spaces are welcoming, accessible and inclusive, reflecting the diversity of their communities. In addition, the project prioritises building the capacity of youth workers to effectively support young people in initiating, managing and sustaining their own projects.

A key component of the project is youth-led community engagement, where young people take the lead in outreach initiatives to recruit participants from local neighbourhoods. Participants then take part in an Urban Design Bootcamp, an intensive training programme that equips them with the skills needed for urban design and project development, all while being guided by a trained mentor. Through this process, participants conceptualise and pitch their ideas for transforming urban spaces. Lastly, three projects are selected to receive seed funding to bring their visions to life.

The Institute supports the development of a continuous MEL process (monitoring, evaluation, learning). This includes the development of a holistic and participatory MEL concept, whereby information on input, output, as well as medium and long-term effects of the project on different target group levels can be collected and project quality can be guaranteed.