Integrating youth in city planning: Developing a participatory tool toward a child-friendly vision of Eastern Wastani – Saida

UNICEF Child Friendly Cities initiative launched in 1996 states that the well-being of children is the ultimate indicator of a healthy habitat. Therefore, public authorities have a responsibility to create an environment where children and young people can grow and reach their potential. Saida has a leading experience in Lebanon in involving children and its young citizens in making decisions about issues that affect their lives. At present, the pooling and subdivision project of Eastern Wastani area may benefit from local and international experiences to develop a child friendly planning strategy that can offer unique insights and creative solutions, and enrich decision-making processes and outcomes. This paper is written to provide a knowledge base for the development of a child and youth friendly planning strategy for the city of Saida. Based on a review of available research and reports, this document provides an overview of basic principles and approaches, and aims to develop a youth participatory tool to engage the children of Saida in urban planning process and decision making. A pilot workshop has been conducted in order to test the viability of suggested activities with regard to children capacities and their awareness of public and social concerns.