Youth places: collaborative cartography with young people in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Abstract
The paper presents the participatory design project "Youth Places", aimed to develop a youth collaborative mapping of the city. The goal is supporting young people to change power and authority by proposing appropriate and meaningful places for their age group in the public space. The paper presents a pilot application of a collaborative cartography platform with a group of young people (14--22 years old) in the region of Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The application provided space and structure for participation, allowing youth to voice their opinions about the use of public space through co-creation and collaborative reflection. The project produced promising preliminary results, including engagement, positive feedback, and increased locus of control. Aiming to address youth's need to participate in community as active and competent citizens, the project intends to share the results with the municipal authorities to inform public policies in the future.
