As cities grapple with the growing impacts of climate change, it's clear that the future belongs to those who will inherit them — our young residents. Yet, adolescents are often overlooked in urban planning and their unique needs remain unmet. But what if they were given a voice in shaping the cities they live in?

In Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), the Healthy City for Adolescents (HCA) initiative is flipping the narrative. We are working to connect adolescents with communities and government bodies, empowering them to co-create public spaces that reflect their needs.

To spotlight this power of collaboration, we will be presenting our Public Space Assessment Framework (PSAF) that has been co-created with 400+ adolescents across diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. We’ll dive into how this unique model of collaboration is shaping inclusive and accessible public spaces while fostering stronger partnerships between adolescents, local governments, and civil society.

We will also discuss our work during a panel discussion, featuring insights from:

• Prerna Mehta, Associate Program Director, Sustainable Cities and Transport, WRI India (Moderator)
• Lavina Rathore, Project Manager, I-India
• Dharitri Patnaik, Founder Chairperson, Humara Bachpan Trust
• Hyung-Tae Kim, Technical Officer (Urban Health), World Health Organization
• Joyati Das, Lead, Partnerships & Advocacy (HCA II), Ecorys UK

Join us to explore how adolescent voices can shape urban futures, one public space at a time.

Learn more about our session: https://bit.ly/CFAatWUF

To attend the event in-person or online*, register here: https://events.unhabitat.org

*The session will be streamed on the WUF12 App, available for Android and iOS. To access the app, please register at the link above.