Youth with Influence:
The Youth Planner Initiative in Hampton, Virginia

Cindy Carlson
Hampton Coalition for Youth

Citation: Carlson, Cindy (2005). "Youth with Influence: The Youth Planner Initiative in Hampton, Virginia ." Children, Youth and Environments 15 (2): 211-226. Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

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Abstract

Young people are taking on important roles in civic life and public decision-making in Hampton, Virginia. This field report introduces Youth Planners—high school-aged young people who work as city planners creating policy, tackling issues important to the city’s youth, staffing a commission of young people who serve as the voice of local youth, and championing their own component of the Hampton Community Plan. Now in its tenth year, Hampton’s Youth Planner initiative has dramatically increased the opportunities for youth to have a voice in local government and the way community leaders and government officials view them. Lessons are shared on the benefits and challenges of working within such an extensive system of youth civic engagement, and within a youth and adult partnership.

Keywords: youth planners, youth as resources, youth participation, youth civic engagement