MyHood - Engaging Youth in Actively Creating a Sustainable and Greener City

We applied for the MyHood project to address the urgent need to actively involve young people (13–18 years) in shaping sustainable and climate-resilient urban environments. Youth often lack accessible tools and opportunities to participate in urban planning or understand how their actions relate to climate change. At the same time, urban planners rarely receive feedback from this age group, missing valuable perspectives. There is also a shortage of interactive, educational digital tools that combine environmental education with civic engagement. MyHood responded to these gaps by empowering educators (formal and informal), municipalities, and youth with a platform that fosters awareness, education, and participation. Our goal was to bridge the disconnect between young citizens and decision-makers, offering innovative methods to engage youth in imagining greener, more inclusive neighborhoods while increasing their climate literacy and civic responsibility.

By implementing the MyHood project, we aimed to empower young people (13–18 years) to become active participants in shaping sustainable, greener urban environments. Our goal was to engage them in rethinking their neighborhoods, not just as places they live, but as spaces they can positively influence. Through the development of a tailored methodology, climate change education content, and an interactive digital tool, we wanted youth to better understand public spaces, environmental challenges, and how their voices matter in urban planning. We strived to motivate a deeper connection to their surroundings, encouraging personal responsibility and civic engagement. By using the MyHood tools, young people would gain the skills and confidence to contribute meaningfully to the transformation of their cities, recognizing that their ideas and actions can have real impact.

We developed, tested, and validated an innovative set of educational and participative tools to engage youth (13–18 years) in co-creating greener and more sustainable cities. Key activities included the design of a structured methodology, creation of climate change education content, development of an interactive online tool, and preparation of user guidance for educators and urban planners. These tools were piloted with target groups and refined through feedback from focus groups and real-life testing. Youth participants learned to evaluate their neighborhoods using the acquired knowledge and communicated their insights directly to municipal planners. To ensure smooth implementation, we organized regular partner meetings (online and in-person) and promoted results widely through multiplier events, an international conference, and communication channels of all partners. A dedicated MyHood website was launched as a user-friendly one-stop-shop, offering both digital and printable versions of all materials for broad accessibility.

The project produced four key outputs: (1) the MyHood Methodology for engaging youth in urban sustainability and decision-making, (2) Environmental Educational Content structured for both digital and offline use, (3) an Interactive Online Tool (progressive web app) for evaluating urban spaces and learning about climate issues, and (4) a User Guide for educators and municipalities on implementing the tool. All outputs are available on the MyHood website https://www.myhood-app.eu/. In addition, we produced project management outputs, including a Project Manual Handbook, Quality and Assurance Plan, and Final Report on Quality Assurance and Monitoring. From dissemination activities, we developed a Dissemination and Communication Plan and a Final Dissemination Report. We also created additional resources such as a project video featuring youth testimonies (https://youtu.be/d3xj30Rzn8U) and extra materials like the Step-by-Step Implementation Guide for the app.