A Recap of The Voices of the Subsequent Technology in Transportation Webinar

One of the thrilling partnerships for America Walks is with the Nationwide Organizations for Youth Security (NOYS). In September of this yr, NOYS held a nationwide convening known as the Nationwide Youth Transportation Fairness Convening in Memphis, Tennessee and invited us at America Walks to attend. The purpose was to create a gathering the place Black, Indigenous and Folks of Colour might come collectively for a full day of studying, group, youth advocacy, reflection and foster significant conversations and join with others. The convening offered an intergenerational area that was each reinvigorating and provoking, showcasing the type of world younger individuals are already creating.

Challenges to Youth Engagement

Younger folks possess distinctive potential as advocates and catalysts for change. Nonetheless, too usually, they don’t seem to be thought-about or engaged in transportation planning, which creates main challenges within the transportation system. That is significantly true for Black and Brown youth. Though youth engagement can current challenges and is typically construed as an absence of curiosity or concern by younger folks, the truth is youth have robust voices and are desperate to form the world round them.

NOYS (Nationwide Organizations for Youth Security) has performed a essential position in advocating for the protection of youth on the roads. The group has been working in direction of decreasing visitors violence, severe accidents, and fatalities since its inception in 1994. Over time, NOYS has been instrumental in bringing collectively a various group of stakeholders to work in direction of creating safer roads for all. In 2022, NOYS made a daring change to redirect all its sources and packages in direction of supporting marginalized youth well being and security. This transfer was geared toward empowering youth to take a extra lively position in shaping transportation insurance policies and practices that instantly impression their lives. By giving younger folks a platform to precise their views and considerations, NOYS has helped to shift the dialog round transportation points and have demonstrated the ability of youth-led actions in creating constructive change in society. 

A New Technology

One of the important adjustments that youth are bringing is the transformation in our transportation system. For years, the ceremony of passage to maturity has been getting a driver’s license. It exemplified freedom and motion. Now, younger folks wait longer to get their driver’s license, wait longer to buy a car, or forgo driving altogether by transferring to areas with extra walkable and public transit choices. Whereas there are numerous explanation why youthful generations aren’t driving, we all know younger folks proceed to be probably the most impacted by highway visitors accidents and fatalities, local weather change and rising price of residing. This has created mistrust amongst younger folks of their determination makers and has led youth to check a special technique to transfer all through their communities. The transition in direction of a safer, extra sustainable and equitable transportation system is underway, and younger individuals are main the cost.

Throughout our dialog with NOYS, Govt Director, Jacob Smith (he/him) we explored the numerous causes the transportation dialog has modified drastically. We have been joined by 3 younger, city planners and transportation leaders, Fatima Elkot (she/her) from Acutely aware Neighborhood Connectors, Programs Strategist Andrew Leung (he/him) and president of the Nationwide Youth Bike Council, Joshua Funches (he/him). They spoke not solely about their discovered experience, information and abilities from schooling {and professional} work, however they emphasised their private perspective, id, historical past and lived experiences and the way it impacts the best way they method their work.

All through the dialog, these younger leaders emphasised youth engagement and relationship constructing with a view to construct an equitable, accessible and secure transportation system for youth. With a purpose to construct a system for youth, you must have interaction and uplift youth. This implies you must meet them the place they’re at, connecting with them and guaranteeing their voices are heard. It’s essential to acknowledge that each one younger folks have distinctive identities that can’t be diminished to a singular entity or may be present in one place. 

You additionally should be relatable to them to maintain younger folks engaged and proceed constructing a relationship with them. Illustration of younger folks is crucial. When younger folks see themselves represented and mirrored within the work, they’re extra prone to keep engaged. Youth could not be capable to prioritize unpaid time, due to this fact, compensating them for his or her time can also be key to retaining them concerned. Lastly, with a view to actually handle systemic points, you can’t give attention to particular person habits. Blaming youth for visitors fatalities and accidents is dangerous and unproductive. As an alternative, by involving youth in determination making and offering them with the chance to contribute to transportation options, we will create a safer and extra sustainable future for everybody.

Get Concerned

For youth who’re curious about studying extra about easy methods to be a part of these areas and study advocacy, NOYS has a number of packages, together with Your Voice, Your Motion Infrastructure Security Contest and yow will discover different packages on their web site. The Nationwide Youth Bike Council hosts the Council Chatcast which showcases youth voices from throughout the nation. Be sure that to take a look at the Nationwide Youth Planning Convention.  Lastly, at America Walks, we’re at all times in search of people who find themselves curious about writing a weblog and sharing their experiences of walkable, secure, inclusive and accessible locations, or if you’re curious about becoming a member of one in all our campaigns, please get in contact with us!

Watch the Full Webinar Right here:

Inquiries to Unanswered Questions

Throughout our webinar, we weren’t in a position to get by all of the questions however our panelists took time post-webinar to share some ideas.

Is it more practical to have interaction youth outdoors of the varsity setting and/or college day?

Fatima Elkott: I’m a fan of “por que no los dos”- the extra the merrier. Everybody has completely different entry points, existence, wants, and so on. Some college students are booked and busy as quickly as they’re out of faculty with different extracurriculars, so generally in-school programming is the best choice to succeed in extra college students: BUT, at school has loads of constraints with time, matters, capability, coordination with the academics, and so on. I believe engagements outdoors of the varsity are actually useful for these college students who’re passionate and need to be extra concerned because it opens up the door for lots extra alternatives and prospects for participating tasks and experiences (however it’s also possible to discover out who these motivated college students are by first being uncovered to them throughout the college setting after which working from there). Lots of our packages have began both in or out of faculty after which blended into the opposite one as well- so it actually does depend upon what your personal capabilities are. In case you’re in a position to get into the varsity system now- go for it! Or begin the out of faculty engagement and thru that you simply might be able to join with who that you must with a view to provide the at school engagement.

Andrew Leung: A corporation I’m affiliated with, Public Issues, runs a highschool paid summer time internship program known as “Shifting con Safos” the place they rent 10 highschool interns from the area people and educate them the basics of city planning. Within the internship, these excessive schoolers turn out to be youth transportation advocates for his or her native communities and ideate and implement their very own transportation interventions. It’s an effective way to share a very distinctive alternative with this age group, and helps them develop vital communication and management abilities!

Joshua Funches: I really feel like each strategies are efficient, particularly if the varsity method is ready to be adopted by a couple of college in the identical city or metropolis. From my expertise, the out of faculty method reaches extra black and brown youth.

Is there a great age group to succeed in out to first? And what’s one of the best ways to attach with them initially?

Fatima Elkott: The sooner the higher! I personally love working with elementary-aged youngsters. Simply take the time to attach. Don’t come at any youth with any technical or lengthy displays/lectures; as an alternative, what are some enjoyable, participating, and inventive methods to attach? There are A LOT of nice actions and curriculums on the market for participating with youth.

Andrew Leung: I’m an enormous advocate of city planning schooling for top schoolers – particularly, introducing extra BIPOC youth to the sector of city planning. After I was touring faculties, I keep in mind I had such a false impression of city planning and transportation as solely authorities jobs.  That’s positively an choice, however I’ve discovered one can work in transportation in a wide range of other ways – personal consulting corporations, nonprofits, and so on. To finest join with excessive schoolers initially, I agree with Joshua’s factors (beneath) – free meals, attending in group, and tactile engagement are all main motivators. To the purpose about tactile engagement, one train I’ve discovered significant is having them replicate on the mobility setting of their very own neighborhood and brainstorm/write/share in small teams about their “transit journey” in navigating the world. It’s a pleasant and approachable technique to contextualize them to the sector of transportation planning and likewise personalize the method.

Joshua Funches: Every age group has worth to offer to the worth and high quality of our transportation, whether or not they know what transportation fairness or justice is or not. A method that has labored for me is asking me to go to an occasion that 1. enabled me to go along with folks I do know (my mates), 2. concerned bodily interplay with the subject and three. nice meals.

What does a profitable pipeline program appear to be within the transportation business? What are some qualities/traits that you simply search for in a mentor/mentee relationship?

Fatima Elkott: Communication, transparency, authenticity. Illustration is vital as effectively and creating areas that enable for awkwardness, shyness, and development. (Making all of it enjoyable after all!)

Andrew Leung: To me, a profitable pipeline program entails three key elements: clear targets, structured help, and steady suggestions. I’ve thrived one of the best in environments the place I do know precisely what abilities/information I’m buying, and have a really clear and concise framework laid out for the way I’m going to attain these learnings. On the identical time, it’s additionally vital to move on institutional information, and have skilled mentors who’ve been within the business who could have your again and actually prioritize attending to know you on each a private {and professional} stage. My most impactful mentorship relationships have been ones the place I can bounce my concepts/hopes/doubts off of them, who’re intuitive about my pursuits and are considerate about recommending instructional sources (books/movies/upskilling programs, and so on.) or will refer me to others of their community who they really feel may need useful views. Lastly, I really feel that in a pipeline program, the continual suggestions ingredient is essential as a result of it opens up the likelihood for iteration and refinement to finest swimsuit the customers of this system, and optimize for his or her distinctive strengths and skills.

Joshua Funches: A profitable pipeline consists of nice curiosity, a path, and pays effectively. In reference to curiosity, a profitable pipeline seems to be like shifting what we’re asking younger folks in search of a profession to consider. As an alternative of asking about buckling up or extra restraint, we will create a pipeline for early professionals to make use of the creativity of expertise to avoid wasting lives for instance. How superior would it not be if the results of your work saved lives on a regular basis; one of many issues instantly linked to an ideal profession in City planning.

Shifting the narrative from visitors security in a sufferer blaming sense to a holistic sense of youth security although social help methods is tough. Do you could have sources or concepts for shifting the narrative?

Fatima Elkott: Invite us to the desk, actually to the desk. It’s positively a problem, however it’s one thing that we will deal with collectively. We’re co-creating the primary ever Youth Planners Convention to hopefully domesticate an area that may be conducive to those conversations and the exploration of those options. We’re actively in search of companions who would need to be concerned and are open to concepts!!

Andrew Leung: To shift the narrative in visitors security from that of sufferer blaming to an acknowledgment of holistic youth security, we have to actively and equitably highlight youth voices within the dialog. And this must not be a tokenized gesture – it’s vital to offer them an lively seat on the desk to air their perspective, as they’re usually the first customers of pedestrian/biking/rolling types of mobility that may reap the ramifications of visitors violence. A number of the elementary ideas I’ve discovered which were helpful instruments in educating in direction of this narrative are full streets, multimodality, and lively transportation. 

Approaching mobility justice from a methods pondering framework additionally has taught me that we confer with visitors accidents as actually “collisions.” Imaginative and prescient Zero language and framework are useful to let youth know that there are lively campaigns on the market engaged on prioritizing their security! Language is so elementary to social change, I believe conducting coaching/workshops for youth to be advocates of their group and rally in opposition to the prevailing victim-blaming narratives is a key significant method!

Joshua Funches: If the younger people you’re connecting with need extra alternatives, I’d suggest the Youth Bike Summit or the Council Chatcasts like I discussed on the webinar.

If there are people which might be curious about youth-bike packages, I’d suggest the YB Hub.