A NEW COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH PROJECT FROM THE CHATR LAB, SFU URBAN STUDIES, AND THE SOUTH VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE

Youth are the future we should be planning for.

The way we build our neighbourhoods shapes our social connectedness – including our ability to hang out with friends, meet new people, or simply feel connected to our community.

Cities aren’t always planned with social connectedness in mind, especially for youth. We want to know: what things in your neighbourhood help you connect with friends and the community? What things make you feel isolated? What needs to change to make South Vancouver a more sociable place for young people?

Youth have the answers.

We invited youth (15-19 years) living in South Vancouver to be community scientists in Youth.hood, a study by SFU and the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House. The study explores how neighbourhood design shapes social connectedness for youth. Youth who participated had the chance to:

• Walk around their neighbourhood and capture things in the environment that promote or prevent social connectedness using a smartphone app.
• Join other youth in a workshop to discuss what they found, discover common issues, and design solutions to promote social connectedness in your neighbourhood.
• Receive free training in civic engagement, met community leaders and city planners to voice their needs and solutions, and advocate for change.

Thank you to all our participants! The study is now complete. Stay tuned for more details.

For reference, the participant consent form and parent/caregiver information letter for the Youth.hood study can be downloaded at the following links:

The Youth.hood study is led by researchers from the CHATR Lab, and SFU Urban Studies, in partnership with the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House and CityHive. The project is funded by SFU’s Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).