RECOMMENDATIONS 

These first graders built model skyscrapers to frame the Market Street corridor from the Ferry Building to City Hall.  Concurrently, they learned about how the Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly has found a home in the London Plane trees that line the busy thoroughfare.  Tall buildings and trees resemble the butterfly’s natural habitat — river canyons. The students took on the challenge—given to them by Amber Hasselbring and Liam O’Brien of Nature in the City and Damien Raffa of the Presidio Trust—to retrofit the public spaces along the street to raise awareness about the butterfly and to support its habitat. The children’s proposals for “urban acupuncture” include butterfly-themed bike paths, seating, and bus shelters.  To educate the public about Tiger Swallowtails, they also envision pop-up outdoor classrooms, mini-museums, parklets, and other interpretive features promoting creative interaction about wildlife corridors and nature in the city.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Site Mapping & SWOT analysis of empty media storage room

• Room is currently used as a storage room, but has lots of potential for student use with a classroom area, radio studio, office, and storage space.

Survey of BLS student body

• 67.6% of students who took the survey believe that a multimedia room would be a good idea

• 61% of students think that the multimedia room would offer students an opportunity to learn new skills and entertain peers

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

• Remove all of the equipment and miscellaneous items that are already present.

• Conduct an inventory on the items that could be salvaged, and discard those that cannot be.

• Find funds in order to build the multimedia room.

• Work with community partners/other school to obtain ideas.

• Design a model of the room to show our vision for change.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• Initiate the grant writing process

• Contact local radio stations

• Create a student internship program to run the multimedia room

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

We are seeking grants and donations so we can pursue our multimedia room and give our youth more opportunities in discovering new talents and new ways to express their creativity and also possibly pursue a future career in the media industry.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Site Mapping & SWOT analysis of water access in school

• Only water fountains in the school are on the first and second floors, none on the third and fourth floors

• There were gum wrappers and other trash in the water fountain

• Fountain on first floor is at least 30 feet or more away from classrooms

• Water is warm and dirty

• Water has low pressure with a button that is difficult to hold

• No water fountain or alternative access in the gym or cafeteria

Survey of 105 BLHS students

• 17.1% of students drink the school water once per week

• 24.8% of students don't participate in drinking the school water due to the fact that it is unappealing.

• 87.6% of students think that the school needs a minimum of 4-5 water fountains.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

• Reusable and branded water bottles for all students

• Water coolers in the gym, cafeteria, and third/fourth floors where there is no fountain

• Sustainability education campaign with workshops and fliers

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• Install bottle-filling stations with hands-free operation, filter, and bottle/cup filler.

• Water sources on all floors

• Fix and update pipes

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

Present research and recommendations to Principal Reilly and share school-wide.

The students considered the following sub-question: Can we make a compelling case to motivate their peers to use environmentally friendly transportation modes, and at the same time, increase their awareness of how to stay safe, as pedestrians and bicyclists, in the traffic environment?

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Survey of GWH Student Body

- 62.3 percent out of students feel safe crossing the streets in downtown.

- Most of the student (40.7%) choose 3, on a scale of 1 to 5, how they feel about pedestrians and bicyclists outside of GWHS on Tillary ST.

- Cars driving too fast (44.2%)and construction (32.7%) were the top 2 safety hazard to pedestrians and bicyclist in GWHS for us students.

- The result of our school survey was that student and teachers do not feel safe on Tillary ST. construction work and cars driving too fast are the main problem.

- The majority of the people who took the survey agree that our environment is in need of many changes and repairs.

Site Mapping

- GWHS is located on Tillary St. between Jay St and Flatbush Ave Ext, between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge.

- There are 7 schools located around Tillary Street where students must cross to get to school.

- In 2016, Vision Zero View reports:

• 17 pedestrian injuries

• 10 bicyclist injuries

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

- We had the idea to make a safety awareness campaign for pedestrian, bikers, and drivers. We wanted to educate the public about how to stay safe, and thought these drawings did that.

- As a next step, we want to create computerized versions of the drawings and potentially turn them into signage for Tillary St.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

- Remediate the broken sidewalks on Tillary St. There are many cracks and trip hazards, which could be fixed to bring about greater safety.

- Widen the median sidewalks, which is currently only 5 feet wide, in the middle of a heavily trafficked 8-lane road.

- Separate space for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. Some ideas we had were to create a pedestrian “sky-walk”, an underground walkway tunnel, and a median separate bike lane.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- We hope that we can work with a graphic designer or we can ask one of the participants if they can computerized our safety campaign.

- The NYCDOT and the Department of Design and Construction had a project called: HWK639W Plan. This plan began in 2009 to increase safety on Tillary St. This project began because the crash rate is nearly nine times the New York state average, with 117 crashes between 2008 and 2010. The project start at Tillary St. and Adams St. but it stops before reaches our area due to funding issue. We want to work with these partners to ensure that the plan is funded so that it can reach our area where the seven schools are located and greatly affected by safety issues.

The students considered the following sub-questions: How does homelessness contribute to absenteeism (absent from school)?  In what ways does homelessness affect a student’s ability to succeed in school?

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

We learned about the homeless population by analyzing data from the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness (ICPH) organization. We were surprised by the statistics of the students who are in temporary housing in New York City.

- In 2015-16 47,948 students in NYC public schools that are doubled up (housing shared with another family).

- 1-out of 9 students experience homelessness in the last five years.

- Elementary students living in a shelter had the highest rates of mid-year transfers and chronic absenteeism (20 or more absences during the school year).

- On average, 10% of all New York City students scheduled to graduate in school year 2013-14 dropped out prior to graduation. In our own school district 14, 18.9%-23.3% dropout.

- The overall citywide four-year graduation rate in school year 2013-14 in New York City was 69%.

- The citywide pass rate for all students in the school year 2015-16, for the 3rd-8th grade State English Language Arts tests was 38%.

- The citywide pass rate for all students on the school year 2015-16 3rd-8th grade State math tests were 36.4%.

- In a snapshot of families with children living in shelter in December 2015, only 19% had entered shelter for the first time that year—that is the equivalent of only about 2,500 of the more than 12,000 families in shelter. Homelessness in New York City has become a cycle of instability where families leave the system only to return again in the future.

We researched the web and found Peak Brooklyn, which is an organization that operates the Ridgewood Bushwick Youth Center in our community.

- The website and videos were very helpful in gaining insight on chronic absenteeism and lack of student achievement.

- Students were disconnected from their schools, had lack of friends, and were not involved in school activities.

- We also learned that teachers and other students do not engage with the students who were chronically absent and the students do not feel that they belong.

We also site-mapped our own school library at the Grand Street Campus to see what resources were available to our students to succeed academically.  We found out that our school library had many strengths as well as some weaknesses. There were also many opportunities as well to use the space in the library to host future events.

Strengths

- A room with 32 working computers, where students can complete school work and access the internet

- An area in the library where there is a sofa to be able to read comfortably, round tables and chairs to work on projects with a group. There were also independent study desks where students can study quietly

- College resource center was located in the back of the library but was not being utilized by the students

- Books, magazines of students’ interest like Anime were available and highlighted for students to find them clearly

Weaknesses

- Library is opened 2-9 and closed during 6th period during the day. Students have lunch during 6th period and cannot go to the library in their free time.

- Library is not opened at after-school hours

- Only one librarian supervises the library and in which you may have up to 20 students at a time. If there is an emergency there is only one adult available

- Books and magazines were outdated and new books were not available

Opportunities

- The library has a large room to host activities after so students can socialize and hang out

- Events for parent outreach could be held at the Library as well

- The college room could be better used by hiring a college advisor where students can make appointments with for college application process and financial aid

- If the library is opened after-school, students can use the computers to get homework completed that are on Castle-learning and type research projects

Threats

- Students may be cutting class if program is not checked

- Lack of security, only one librarian

RECOMMENDATIONS

 SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

- Parent Outreach- Make parents more involved and aware of students’ academics and attendance. For example, teachers use Jupiter grades to input attendance so we can teach parents to use the program.

- Make parents and students aware of programs and services that are available for students in temporary housing through creating brochures.

- Add additional staff to library to use during lunch and after-school hours.

- Utilize the school library for students to get college help, use computers, and to socialize with other students.

- Help students who are chronically absent to socialize with other members of the school so that they don’t feel left out. This can be done by students them participating in Peer Group Connection.

- Offer emotional support by announcing positive quote of the day on school website and by teachers and staff.

- More social events during and after school for students to feel needed and want to stay in school.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)    

- Make a program for families at school to help parents and students to deal with difficult issues by providing a support group.

- At each high school, offer students college application service and guide them through the college application process.

- DOE should hire more staff to accommodate the growing number of  students in temporary housing and to help the families to find housing near their schools without having to be absent from school. Alternatively, DOE should partner with DHS or STH.

- Create a online DOE website for students to complete lessons where teachers can have access to view student progress.

- Provide childcare services after school if parent has to apply for temporary housing during the day.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

- Conduct school wide student surveys to identify students in temporary housing to get up to date information on our students in temporary housing population.

- Surveys will also get insight from students who are in temporary housing to help them to succeed.

- We need school administration to help with making this survey possible because of privacy issues.

- We also need someone in the school who can be dedicated in helping our students in temporary housing population to work with the DOE Liaison

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

- Currently only 17% of MTA employees are females.

- 44% of employees in the MTA will retire within five years.

- 80% of the students in transit tech are interested in CTE.

- ONLY 10% of them knew of the CTE pathways in transit tech.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To attract more young adults to apply for CTE jobs the MTA can provide some incentives. These may include free metro passes for all high school students, Official MTA gear donations (clothes, power tools and etc.) and more internship opportunities. Overall the more MTA involvement with schools the more interest the students will show.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Social Media

We can go on social media as in Instagram, Facebook, also twitter and promote the MTA jobs by giving information on the requirements.

E-mail

Send emails with a list of CTE schools to people signed up on social media.

Advertisements

Ads are everywhere! Promoting transit tech and other schools'  CTE programs to help get in to the MTA will increase peoples awareness about MTA jobs opening up.  

MTA Jobs Apps

MTA app would help show the different fields the MTA has to offer and the different salary.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Branding

We have banners around the school that support the MTA and electrical careers.

Metro Card Holders/ Merchandise

We can give out metro cardholders and key chains to encourage people to join the MTA.

School Websites

Instead of having students create websites we should have professionals run them.

Brochures

We place brochures in public places with MTA jobs information.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- The city needs to target all schools to create more CTE programs.

- Students with CTE experience to volunteer for school fairs & speak to under classmen.

- Our schools needs to better inform the students about the opportunities available at Transit Tech

- Our project partner should create an action plan to bring our proposals to life.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Surveyed 91 students from WHSAD to understand current attitudes and behaviors around recycling:

- 68% responded with a “5” rating to the question” I think recycling is important”

- 43% responded with a “5” rating to the question “I recycle at home”

Conducted Site Mapping and SWOT Analysis of recycling receptacles in school.

- Posters spreading awareness about recycling are not visible.

- Teachers are not role models for recycling behaviors

- Recycling bins are currently in all classes but are not being utilized

- Students in all schools in building don’t recycle enough

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

- Design WHSAD t-shirts to promote recycling.

- Set up recycling bins in public spaces.

- Create more infographics to post around the school.

- Write announcements reminding students to recycle to be read over the loudspeaker.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

- Educate younger students (visit neighborhood elementary schools).

- Install recycling bins on the sidewalks surrounding the building.

Cost Benefit Analysis

- Cost: $854.22 – blue and green recycling bins for each space (31 total)

- Benefit: a major benefit of investing in recycling bins is that it will lead to students protecting the environment at a young age; which should then spark a change for the rest of they general population.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- For students: Design WHSAD t-shirts to promote recycling

- For the project: Create more infographics to post around the building

- For the school: Set up recycling bins in shared spaces

- For the city: Install recycling bins on the sidewalks surrounding the school

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Site Mapping Student Observations:

- The lane markings appear to be almost invisible.

- The crosswalk and the stoplight do not allow for enough time to cross the street.

- There are many potholes.

- Water accumulates in puddles on the corners of the streets.

- Pedestrians need more space.

- The park is known to be dangerous.

Street interviews with pedestrians- livability:

- “Most of the main streets don’t have enough space on the sidewalks.”

- Most people blame safety how the streets are placed; people cannot pass by the trees.  

- Some people commented on the amount of trash.

Environmental Impact Report:

-Combined Sewage Overflow

Polluted water gets dumped into large bodies of water rather than being treated.  If the water is polluted, phytoplankton cannot survive.  Up to 85% of our oxygen comes phytoplankton. Possible solution: Bioswales

RECOMMENDATIONS

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

- Road surface markings along Roebling and South 4th

- Wall mural under BQE Intersection

- New traffic signal at Roebling Street and South 4th

- New lights under the BQE to improve street safety and livability

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Get approval of our proposals from the D.O.T and City Council

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

- Met with our client, Heather

- Discussed key components of kiosk

- Identified possible location for kiosk along “L” and “J” subway lines near WHSAD in Williamsburg

- Completed S.W.O.T. exercise to analyze the Strengths and Weakness of the location we considered

Strength: In a high-traffic area with potential for high volume of users

Weakness: Litter, traffic in area

Opportunities: Could keep people active and generate revenue for businesses in the area

Threats: Possible break-ins and lack of respect for public property, maintenance

- Design kiosk using AutoCAD for a design competition

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

- Continue to monitor funding opportunities – the project has just been submitted to NYS Health Foundation

- Finalize kiosk design

- Find regulations for placing completed kiosk

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

- Begin construction on kiosk

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Make changes to renderings for new version of kiosk

- Look for partners to create an app to go with the kiosk

- Begin construction on kiosk

- Work with the proper city agencies

The students considered the following sub-questions: What does teen dating violence look in our community? Why are the misconceptions about healthy relationships? How can we raise awareness about teen dating violence for NYC teens and their families?

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

SWOT Analysis of Existing Youth Campaigns

- “Love is Respect”

- Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence

- Strengths: multilingual, clear slogans + catchphrases

- Weaknesses: hetero-normative, small and unclear writing

- Opportunities: gender neutral language, more languages, more inclusive demographics

- Threats: homophobia, stigmas that men are always the abusers

Workshop with MOCDV about Teen Dating Abuse

- Analyzed the Wheel of Equality and the Wheel of Power and Control

- Role-played and discussed different forms of abuse in intimate partner relationships

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Launch Teens 2 Teens campaign

About Us: The mission of Teens 2 Teens is to target the attention of the NYC youth community about teen dating abuse. We are working with the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence to educate teens throughout NYC about the components of healthy and unhealthy relationships and build a culture of dating based on trust, equality, and respect.

Mission: We use the #LetThemKnow to encourage and strengthen teens to speak out about unhealthy or abusive relationships, so that we can build a safe and trusting community between teens. Made for teens by teens.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Teens 2 Teens on Social Media

- Promote #letthemknow on Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

- Use Facebook profile filters and Snapchat geot-filters to help the hashtag to go viral.

- Create youtube video about #letthemknow to explain our mission and encourage teens to share their stories on our social media platforms and website.

- Increase twitter activity of OCDV by using #letthemknow

Teens 2 Teens Webpage

The webpage will be a space where:

- Teens can post their stories (anonymously if they choose).

- Teens can learn about dating abuse through resources like the wheel of equity and the wheel of power and control.

- Teens can access services and hotlines offered by OCDV.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Budget and fund snapchat geofilters & facebook profile filters during the week-long launch of Teens 2 Teens

- Create a teen task force to run the social media profiles for Teens 2 Teens using #letthemknow, gather content for the website, and reach out to high schools across the DOE.

- Partner with DOE to spread the word about Teens 2 Teens across high schools in NYC, especially during the launch week.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

 Community Survey in Bensonhurst around Life Academy High School

- “We found that it’s more than just access but a mindset that each person must have.”

 Survey Results:

- 55% of students don’t feel as though they eat healthy.

- 25% of students don’t have access to healthy foods.

- 95% believe that damaging food is cheaper than healthier food.

- 55% of students eat fast food 2-7 times a week.

Site Mapping in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

- “I think eating healthy is very essential to living however, many people do not have the resources or cannot afford to healthy.”

- “I know it’s necessary but I hate it, because it doesn’t satisfy me.  I’ve never craved something healthy.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Healthy LIFE Mural

- Educate our school community and combat the fast food industries advertising tactics with our own “Heathy L.I.F.E.” mural to inspire our fellow students to make the right choices it takes to make healthy eating a way of life

- The mural will not only include images of healthy foods but healthy mantras. We hope that the students will be inspired by the mural and accept the mantras as their own.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Healthy Life Community Garden

- Create community service and home economic classes that allow the students to increase their skill and knowledge set of fresh fruits and vegetables.

- Provide the students with a natural environment, which is uncommon to their neighborhoods throughout NYC.

- We will also continue to partner with our clients Diana Reyna and Jeff Lowell, as well as Liberty Partnership Program to increase the possibilities and reach of the garden.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Trip to organic garden to learn how to cultivate a garden.

- Obtain funding for community garden.

- Continue “Healthy L.I.F.E” mural and educating our students on the benefits of eating healthy.

- Continue to research the lack of access to healthy affordable foods in urban communities.

The students considered the following sub-questions: Why is food waste a problem? Who or what contributes to food waste? How can we get our key stakeholders to help us achieve our goal? 

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Interviews

- Interviewed 5 key stakeholders and leaders in the building: the Dean of Origins, AP Shields, Principal Banks, the head custodian, and the head chef.

- All stakeholders agree that food waste is a problem but everyone has a different take on why it exists and what should be done.

- “I rather make too much food than not have enough.”- Head Chef for building

Surveys

- Surveyed 232 students at Origins High School

- 25.4% answered “3-5 times per week” to the question “How frequently do you eat school lunch?”

- 8.5% of students answered “100%” to the question “What % of the food do you usually eat?”

- 64.7% of students marked that they “throw unwanted food out” rather than “share with friends” or “save it for later”

Site Mapped Cafeteria

- Top 3 Strengths

Clean and organized kitchen

Caring workers

Fresh food

Top 3 Weaknesses

Menu not visible or accurate

Lots of wasted food

Large portions

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

- Inform Cafeteria Manager when students are going on trips  

- Offer smaller portion options

- Set up a share table for unopened food items

- Display accurate weekly menus around the cafeteria

- Educate to Inspire

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

- Continue SCRAP Program to assess waste

- Create sorting stations

- Advisory presentations

- Compost food scraps and expired/spoiled food for the garden!

- Revise food choices to reduce commonly wasted food items

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Begin construction of school garden

- Add colorful steps in cafeteria from food tables to the bins to help students sort waste correctly

- Hold a meeting with all of our key stakeholders to share our observations, data and recommendations

The students considered the following sub-questions: What types of activities would students like to see on campus? How can we improve food and water conditions at schools? How can we make bathrooms cleaner and healthier? 

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

School exercise equipment is outdated and it does not work. More students would participate in school activities if there were more fun clubs.

77.8% of students would drink water if the water fountains were clean. 16.7% of students say they already only drink water already. 5.5% of students said they would still only consume sweet drinks.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Social + Physical Activities

We expect once we add these new, and improved, events more students would want to participate in them.

            - A field day

            - More rally days

            - Improved dances

The cost of these social events would be within the school’s budget:

            - Rallies: $150 for materials

            - Dances: $500 for decorations

            - Field Day: $1,000-$3,000

            - The DJ’s for school dances cost: $200-$300           

            - Treadmills would cost: $500-$1000

Healthier Food

Better food that students will enjoy with fresh and organic ingredients since our current school food is processed and pre-packaged.

Better and clean water systems and fountains. Free refillable water bottles with the school’s logo. More vending machines for water

Bathrooms

We are proposing to change and improve bathrooms in our school/ We would get automatic flushing sensor toilets since some people don’t flush after using the toilet/urinal.

Cost Benefit Analysis: Bathrooms

- The school district might have money to make these changes
- We could host a fundraising and education campaign to spread awareness of how disgusting the bathrooms are
- It might cost hundreds but it will be worth it!

LOOKING FORWARD

Next Steps

- We need comfortable and clean bathrooms a HJHS
- Clean bathrooms might improve our school’s reputation
- We would want to continue sharing our project findings with the community 

The students considered the following questions: What do you see the biggest challenges with your school and surrounding community to healthy living? What can your school, the Health Education Council, students and school administration do to improve healthy eating habits and encourage physical activity throughout you school’s environment and neighborhood? 

RECOMMENDATIONS

School-based Recommendations

We want to change our school’s culture which lacks physical activity. We propose creating a Wellness Program to keep students active and educated on how to have healthier lifestyle.

By taking 4 minutes from each class, the Wellness Program will be a 24-minute period between 3rd and 4th periods, only 3 times a week, when students will be allowed to go outside and do exercise in different stations.

Physical Activity

We would also like to create a track for our school, in order to start a track team and to have a place for our Running Team to use. This is important because we need to educate our students on how to live a healthier life and get them used to exercising regularly and maybe even try out for a sport team, inside school or in the community. How much would it cost?  We estimated the cost of equipment to $100 or even less. The cost of the track was estimated to: 7.6K

We would like the idea of having a weekly obstacle course that would challenge students to be physically active and have fun. This is important because we want students to be active outside of class and to encourage them to take part in these activities which would benefit their health. We would like to make a committee dedicated to organizing this activity. The cost of the obstacle course depends on the activities we decide to put in later.

Water Access                                                                       

We want more filtered water stations around campus, outdoors and in covered areas (for when it is raining or the sun is hitting it). The school should increase the drinking options for lunch meals, right now there is only milk and cucumber water was added. School should give us refillable water bottles, with our school logo, to encourage students to drink water and have school pride. Cost: $1- $3, stainless steel or plastic bottle.

There are approximately 200 students in our school. A regular pack of water bottles includes 24 water bottles that is sold at about $5.99. To supply each student with a water bottle daily it would cost $54. To supply each student with a water bottle yearly it would cost $19,440. The cooler costs about $1,900. If each bottle of water is recycled approximately $2,000 would be made of profit to use for later projects.

Girls Empowerment Club

We started the Girls Empowerment Club to support young women build confidence and leadership skills. We have a staff on campus that supports our program after school.

Activities for Club:

Become mentors for local elementary and middle school students, so they can have someone else to talk to about their problems or family issues, besides a teacher or counselor.
Host fun team building activities with members to build community with each other
We created a Dance Team within the Club, to encourage physical activity.
We meet 3 times a week and we have about 25 members each day.

Budget:

We need to fundraise $100 to buy materials for team building activities per semester.
We hope to start next school year with $300 to buy dance uniforms, practice uniforms and dance bags.

Personal Experience from Club Leader:

This club is needed in schools because from my personal experience of going to speak to Elementary School students, I noticed that the younger ladies have came out of their comfort zone and grown a lot since the 1st day.

On our first day working with them, they were so shy and boxed in. They would only talk in their small groups. Now, in the 5th week of the program, I can say they have changed. We all are doing things as one team, and when I say we need to have partners they grab a different person everyday.

Quote from student:

“I enjoy coming to the girls club because Jamisha teaches me different styles of dance and the team buildings are amazing it brings everyone in the group together as a team.”

LOOKING FORWARD

For the students, we can work with the schools or partners to fundraise the money for our materials.

For the community, to have more of these projects around the community.

For the schools, we can help solves these problems in every school

For the city, they can help us successfully make these projects

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

- About 30% of Students have NOT visited the Health Center on campus, with only 33% saying they have only visited once since starting at De Anza.

 - Also, 22% of students have never talked to a counselor on campus.

- About 41% of the students surveyed rated the school lunch food quality at a 1 for low quality.

- Over 50% of students do 2-4 hours of homework which is causing them more stress.

RECOMMENDATIONS

School Lunch:

-  Create a student garden on campus

Students could pick and wash fresh and healthy veggies and fruits.

 Open a student kitchen, with culinary and agriculture classes.

  - De Anza HS can partner with grocery stores and different organizations to get fresh veggies from there.

 We can buy the misfit veggies and fruits, that are unfortunately thrown away just because of how they are formed, their color, or shape.

- Open Campus / Off-Campus Lunch

Off Campus lunch would allow students to eat whatever they want, without causing the school trouble.

The school could save money by students eating elsewhere.

Elective Classes:

Start a Driver’ Ed Classes

- I think that Driver’s Ed classes at our school would benefit students that are not able to afford the online classes to get their Driving Permit

- The DMV could be a partner in this process by bring driving instructors and process permit tests

Diversity of College and Career Classes

- More college + career classes would help students learn different topics, and help them decide what to study in their future (in college)

- We could do school fundraisers to help pay for the cost for these college/career preparatory classes

Hiring new teachers, materials, field trips related to these classes

Bell Schedule + Homework

Start school later in the day!

- Our brains would be more awake later in the morning (9am instead of 8:10am)

- Students and teachers would benefit because we both would have more time to prepare for the rest of the school day.

Less Homework = Less Stress

- Teachers should give less homework so students could have more free time to do extracurricular activities, such as playing sports or spending time with family.

- It’s better to give two large review projects each quarter or weekly quizzes to review what we learned that week.

- Less homework would reduce stress levels of students!

LOOKING FORWARD

- We would like students to help spread these ideas and work together to improve our school.

- Our Principal can work with students address these issues at De Anza

- The city and school district can help spread the word of these ideas to other schools and youth in Richmond.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

- The majority of youth either walk or take the bus as main use of transportation
- Medical services are mostly obtained from Kaiser in Richmond
- Youth indicated that: parks, open spaces, and schools should be PROTECTED
- Most obvious HEAT ISLANDS or “hot spots” (an urban place that is significantly warmer than rural areas around it because of human activities) are bus stops and parking lots
- People waiting for the bus have to wait in the sun because there is no shade/cover. This creates “heat islands”
- Multiple empty lots near 23rd street, neat popular bus stops
- Limited trash cans create pollution in our community
- Public art was mentioned to be wanted and seen around schools and stores
- Trash cans, benches and lights with motion sensors are needed to protect the green spaces in our communities
- Many houses are not composting or recycling to keep their garbage low
- Not a lot of greenery for water to seep through around homes

RECOMMENDATIONS

School Based Recommendations:

- Outdoor classrooms at RHS for green space appreciation, especially since there are not enough windows in the class rooms
- Clean ceiling skylights in school (to save energy)

- Transform vacant lots around our school into public green spaces + parks

Community Recommendations:

- MORE public + street art in the community
- Bus stop shelters with departure times
- Sensory street lights get brighter when you pass by
- Construct complete bike lanes
- Reconstruct streets to prevent floods

- Street lights with motion sensor at parks and streets to have better lighting and save energy

NEXT STEPS

 - Students can make little efforts every day to keep our city clean, like picking up trash

- Schools need to enforce the rules to make people more aware of the environment

- Cities need more signs to spread awareness around the community

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

In July 2009, the Oakland City Council approved a preliminary greenhouse gas reduction target for the year 2020 to be 36% lower than 2005 emission levels. 56% of Oakland’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from building energy use. 38% of emissions comes from transportation of local roads, and 6% comes from landfill waste. Most Restaurant waste comes from organics such as food, amounting to 68%.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Renewable Energy and Efficiency:

- Place solar panels around Jack London (on the movie theater, fire station, ferry building, ferry boats, and restaurants)
- Provide tax breaks for businesses that use solar panels
- Use all excess energy from the solar panels to power homeless shelters around Jack London
- Using LED lights instead of CFL lights will reduce costs since they will not need to be changed annually and they have very high energy efficiency
- Solar panels on stadium lights would keep more carbon from being released into the atmosphere
- Insulating buildings in Jack London Square would reduce the costs of heating and cooling by about 20%

Waste Management:

- Increasing composting and recycling bins in Jack London and the stadiums to manage waste
- Using composting toilets that compost waste and turn it into fertilizer
- Producing electricity with local methane

Transportation:

- Making biking around the city possible by improving bike shares, installing safer bike racks, and improving bike lanes
- Make a change to hybrid or electric buses
- Increase the tax on fuel
- Decrease parking to encourage people to take public transportation instead
- Get kids there with no bus fare! Make public transportation 9AC Transit and BART) free for low income students in OUSD
- Using the space in stadium parking for farmers’ markets will bring health organic food to low income communities in Oakland 

The students considered the following sub-questions: How can the community help us measure the impact of sea level rise in Oakland? What are the measures that the community could provide? How can we increase community involvement in data collection and engagement?

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Sea level is to rise 1-2 meters by 2100. Students contacted business owners in Jack London Square to talk about sea level rise, only 11 out of 15 wanted to learn more, the other 4 were uninterested or did not belief it would happen. With the help of Neighborhood Watch students conducted a survey of the East Oakland and Iveywood areas about sea level rise. Only 13 out of 36 homeowners knew about the problem, 9 of them had children. Out of those surveyed 11 homeowners thought it was too late to do something about sea level rise. Using an Instagram page to survey people proved to be more efficient than hanging fliers in neighborhoods. Out of the 30 surveyed on Instagram 11 homeowners knew what sea level rise was.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 Looking Forward – City of Oakland

- Spread awareness/notify the community of the rising sea level
- Require regulations for new or rehabilitated housing
- Collaborate with people like insurance companies, businesses, NCPC
- Policy enforcement

Looking Forward – The Students

- Spread awareness about sea level rise on social media
- Talk to their parents/ guardians about joining community events regarding SLR
- Advocate for Climate Change curriculum

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

- New benches would cost around $300 a bench, to get 15 new benches with seating for 5-7 people it would cost a total of $4,500.

- The cost of a mural is around $10 -$20 per square foot. One would also have to put into account the artist and the compensation that comes with experience.

- 40 new light posts around the station would cost $160,000 at $4,000 each.

- Community protectors in the BART stations would cost around $2,500 a week.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 Together we have come up with several short and long term recommendations that will make BART a more attractive way to travel. Our recommendations range from enhanced connectivity to technology to the development of affordable housing and community-serving retail. While these recommendations are centered around the youth experience, they will make the BART experience better for all users.

SHORT TERM (1-6 Months)

- Comfortable seating like the bench in front of the Fremont BART station would honor the community and provide a welcoming place for passengers to wait to be picked up after their trip
- Charging stations for electronics would allow for emergency calling when devices are on low battery. They would also encourage youth to ride BART
- Murals in the station would make the stations look livelier rather than bland, they would create an environment where riders look forward to seeing the art in their commute. The murals can be painted by community members and youth that can be recruited through a social media contest

LONG TERM (1-3 Years)

- A recreation center with studio space would encourage youth to ride BART and stay healthy and practice their art safely
- WiFi throughout the station to increase connectivity
- The construction of a retail center near the BART station would also boost weekend ridership
- To increase safety in the stations, BART can invest in more lighting that is sustainable and uses LED strips rather than a traditional light bulb. The lights can also change colors making the station more inviting
- To increase the Eyes and Ears on the Street BART can hire community protectors who are members of the Oakland community trained in nonviolent conflict mediation and who are unarmed and unaffiliated with the police force.
- To increase ridership BART should upgrade their App so it looks better and is more comprehensive. There should also be a collaboration between BART and car sharing services so the car arrives when the passenger gets off BART

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

BART officials are working on developing an internship program for high school students so they could work on making some of their recommendations into a reality.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

We surveyed 166 of our peers and found that only 14.5% of them rode BART on a regular basis with 72 students out of the 166 saying that they don’t use BART.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 Together we have come up with several short and long term recommendations that will make BART a more attractive way to travel. Our recommendations range from enhanced connectivity to technology to the development of affordable housing and community-serving retail. While these recommendations are centered around the youth experience, they will make the BART experience better for all users.

SHORT TERM (1-6 Months)

Sustainable Technology

- Solar powered charging stations and WiFi hotspots throughout the BART station to keep youth and riders connected and increase safety

- Digital Boards in the station waiting areas that display local youth art, advertisements and BART train departure times and announcements would modernize the stations and connect riders to the community around them as well as make revenue through the advertisements.

- Better, more efficient lighting throughout the station would increase safety

- New ticket dispensing machines that allow riders to input the exact amount of money they need on their ticket and that dispenses change in bills rather than handfuls of quarters would increase rider experience

Comfortability in the stations

- Waiting areas for riders to wait for their trains with much more comfortable seating to reduce the stress of commuting

- Cleaner bathrooms and cleaner stations would make riders feel welcomed and appreciated by BART

- Beautifying the stations by including live art canvases and the digital boards can encourage riders to disconnect for a moment and relax by looking at art or participating in the live art canvases

- Employee break rooms with enough space to sit, warm up and eat some food would make for a more pleasant experience not only for the riders but for the workers as well 

- A bike-share program with BART and the surrounding community would reduce the need for cars and would encourage youth to ride BART and be more active

- Turning parking spaces into parklets with play structures for kids can increase child safety by keeping them from running into incoming cars. Parklets would also make parents more inclined to travel with their children on BART rather than car

- Heat lamps near seating in outdoor stations will keep riders warm as they wait for their train in rainy and cold weather

LONG TERM (1-3 Years)

- Parks with sports fields and picnic areas next to the BART stations will increase weekend ridership by making recreation BART-able

- Local businesses that offer other forms of recreation like an arcade, bowling, a pool hall, virtual gold, or virtual reality would increase youth ridership

- Having a space where a Farmers Market and events like Off the Grid would not only encourage people to use BART, it would bring nutritious food to communities who wouldn’t otherwise have access

- Ensuring there is ample affordable housing in the developments BART is planning on their stations would keep Oakland’s youth in Oakland and reducing the dependence on cars as well as making BART accessible to low income communities.

- An Oakland sign in the hills, similar to the Hollywood sign, would increase tourism in Oakland. The sign would also increase ridership, something BART needs more of now that sports teams are leaving Oakland

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

BART officials are working on developing an internship program for high school students so they could work on making some of their recommendations into a reality. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Throughout the Fall 2016 semester, students learned about public health, safety, feelings of wellness in school, and equity. They developed a survey for their Health Academy peers, but ultimately decided to distribute the survey school-wide, obtaining responses from 180 students. Through their in-class lessons and activities, they were reminded that school climate is an indicator of an equitable education.

Students learned that various social, emotional and systemic factors (like poverty or racism) create different health outcomes for different populations. With this in mind, they developed proposals for the new committee  to consider for future implementation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Students recommended simple solutions that could be implemented in the next couple of months. Many of these are also relatively inexpensive and only require small adjustments to school operations and conditions.

• Add toilet paper and soap in the bathroom throughout the day. Students shared that in the morning the bathrooms are in good condition but by lunchtime, there is no more toilet paper for the rest of the day and the soap containers are empty.
• Fix broken stalls. Many times students are late to class because they need to stop at the restroom between classes and the bathroom stalls are broken, so there is a line of students waiting for 1 or 2 stalls.
• Fix damaged lockers. This was a popular recommendation from the student body. They disliked the condition of their lockers and saw this as disrespect to their safety and privacy. They shared photos of lockers that were jammed or too far from the student’s classes, so students feel forced to share lockers with their friends.
• Paint walls to make classrooms more engaging. Most classrooms in Richmond High School have no windows; students suggested adding windows to the hallways to avoid bad smells, and to allow more natural light to come in.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• Add drinking water fountains. Students were concerned with water access on campus and suggested adding more filtered water fountains to encourage students to bring reusable water bottles and drinking water.
• Improving and repairing damaged facilities such as locker islands, walls and ceilings. The decaying state of the building’s infrastructure raises concerns about the physical safety of students. It also adds to the lack of student pride and the collective campus identity, which translates in issues such as graffiti, tagging and littering.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

Students will present their findings and proposals to the rest of the RHS Climate Action Team in the weeks to come. They will also present to the WCCUSD Superintendent in by the end of the semester. The representatives from the RHS Climate Action Team who were part of the final presentation panels were interested in hearing more from the students about the reasons behind their proposals, specially those that could be addressed soon and with a small budget. The panel members had multiple questions for the students on their personal experiences around campus and how it related to the survey results they found through the project. Later in the spring, Mr. Seeber’s students will also present in the Richmond Y-PLAN Summit alongside Y-PLAN scholars from other schools in City Hall.

A small cohort of these students will participate in a Spring Y-PLAN project with the Trust for Public Land about climate change, resilience, and new technological tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students will advise TPL staff on the development of layers of health and resilience indicators for this GIS platform. The Trust for Public Land is conducting this project for the City of Richmond to use.

 YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

• Youth are very interested in learning more about careers with BART and other transit agencies, but they lack networks to provide them with access and insight into career pathways
• In order to appeal to more youth, BART should consider increasing their social-media presence as well as focus on low-tech options like stickers and t-shirts
• In order to make it easier for people to navigate the website when looking for jobs, BART should revise their home page and make it more navigable

RECOMMENDATIONS

The students at Kennedy High were very excited to learn about career pathways with BART and to know that they were actively being sought out to work within the organization in the future. In order for underrepresented youth to feel supported and safe while exploring career options, BART should consider having a high school internship program, ample technical training opportunities in Contra Costa County, and a greater presence at the schools. 

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months) 

BART should focus on creating ads that are visually appealing to youth and represent the diversity of the Bay Area 

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years) 

• Youth need internships and career pathway programs to help them access the opportunities available within BART 
• BART should partner with schools and technical programs to provide these opportunities 

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

In order to increase the scale and scope of future internship programs, BART can partner with organizations in Richmond who focus on youth and career development .

These can include Kennedy High School, RYSE Youth Center, Contra Costa College, Rubicon Programs, Richmond Build, Contra Costa Health Services and the City of Richmond .

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

Rooftop gardens: It costs 25-30% more to install a green roof than to install a traditional roof.

On average, bioswales cost about $16.95 per square foot to install.

Parklets range considerably in cost, starting at $5,000 all the way up to $25,000, depending on architecture and additional fees.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to promote livability, health, and sustainability in Downtown Oakland, we recommend that the city invest resources into short-term and long-term resilient infrastructure and systems.  

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Permeable Pavers: Interlocking concrete paving blocks, porous concrete, or gravel paving that allows for rainwater to absorb into the ground, maintain groundwater systems, and effectively filter pollutants from the water.

Rooftop Gardens: Green roofs moderate daily temperatures in cities, improve air quality, and manage storm water.

Bioswales: These storm water runoff conveyance systems provide green alternatives to storm sewers. Bioswales reduce heat and filter water before it goes back into the ground.

Parklets: A parklet is a public extension of a sidewalk that is installed over the location of a traditional parking space. They offer places to sit and relax in the city and, if planted, provide fresh air and cooler temperatures.

Recycled Water: Using recycled water to hydrate plants and for other non-consumable water uses in the City to promote water reuse, especially in times of drought.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

Students participated in a college panel with Y-PLAN mentors to learn more about college life, choosing a major related to sustainability, and finding internships.

We look forward to receiving a response to comment on each of our proposals from the City of Oakland’s Planning and Building Department.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

44.4% of people in the survey said it took them 20-30 minutes to get to their grocery store.
Smartphone charging releases 6.4 megatons of greenhouse gases per year.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses reduce CO­2 emissions by 30%.
Smart Thermostats in residences saves about $100 per household per year while saving about 813 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to promote sustainability in Downtown Oakland, we recommend that the city invest resources into short-term and long-term alternative energy infrastructures and carbon-free events. It is important that Oakland meets and exceeds the Climate Action Plan target for 2020 and looks to future GHG reduction.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Pedestrian Boulevards: Building a strong sense of community in a car-free environment—returning the use of the streets to people.
Solar Charging Stations: Solar powered charging stations in the downtown area near businesses and recreation areas allowing visitors and residents alike to charge their electronic devices.
Three Bin Waste: Require compost, recycling, and trash separated bins at fast food restaurants to reduce landfills.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Tidal Power: A renewable and efficient hydropower technology that generates electricity from the tides in the Bay.
Edible Gardens: Making healthy food cheap, affordable, and accessible to Downtown Oakland residents so they don’t have to travel as far by car or bus to get groceries.
Pneumatic Waste Systems for Restaurants: A series of underground waste collection tubes that take waste directly from restaurants to compost, recycling, or waste centers.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses: By switching over AC Transit’s entire fleet of buses to Hydrogen Fuel Cell burning, GHGs will be significantly reduced.
Solar Electric Bike Share: Combining two sustainable technologies – bike share to reduce car usage and solar charging stations to further the use of green energy in Downtown.
Sensor Controlled LED Streetlamps: This intelligent street lighting system plus LED bulbs is said to reduce CO2 and GHG emissions by 80%.
Smart Thermostats: Reduce about 10% off heating and 15% off cooling costs for an average residence, saving in annual CO2 emissions.
White Roofs: White roofs on office and residential buildings reflects off heat that is usually absorbed by dark roofs, thus promoting cooler temperatures within buildings and reducing reliance on air conditioning systems.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

We reflected on why we produced such high quality work, and we agreed it was because of the real-world application of this project. We were inspired to make our city better.
We look forward to receiving a response to comment on each of our proposals from the City of Oakland’s Planning and Building Department.

The students considered the following sub-questions: How does the design of a community affect young people’s health? The students were to apply this question to one of three focus areas: 1) access to healthy foods; 2) physical activity; and 3) personal and physical safety

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

• School specific data from SCUSD shows that 89.2% of HJHS students receive “Free & Reduced Lunch Prices,” which means they come from low-income families. These numbers are higher than the district–wide average, where 64.2% of all students receive “Free & Reduced Lunch.”
• HJHS has 27% of English Language Learners, meaning these are students from immigrant family background that speak a language other than English at home.
• High percentages of Latino students: 43.3% at Hiram Johnson HS
• The students’ final recommendations were presented in at school to the client, community leaders, parents, and school faculty and staff. The key issues students decided to address with their proposals included public spaces, transportation, and public health:
  • Improving park infrastructure (restrooms, playgrounds, etc.)
  • Improving bus stops to make them more visible and accessible through proper crosswalks and better street lights
  • Increasing the access to healthy eating options for youth and their families

RECOMMENDATIONS

The final recommendations from the students focused on redesigning key elements of the community to improve the health of the neighborhood residents. They hope that with these recommendations, community members would have better access to healthy eating options and to make healthier lifestyle choices.

Our recommendations focused on educating the public about healthy eating options and how to make healthier lifestyle choices. We also propose adding more facilities and amenities to the downtown area to allow residents the opportunity to choose healthier food and forms of recreation.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Healthy Food

• - Create an educational campaign about the benefits of CalFresh and access to farmers’ markets
  • - Informational booths around the city
  • - High school students can gain community service credits by going into elementary and middle schools to talk about the benefits of healthy eating
• - Make healthy eating guides and tips for consumers about how to shop for healthy foods and plan healthy meals
  • - Include resources for existing cooking classes and exercise classes
• - Expand the service of the local mobile farmers’ market, Freshest Cargo, to create easier access to healthy food in the Downtown area
• - Advocate for more healthy restaurant options in the Downtown area

Safety

• - Handout pamphlets and informational material about Neighborhood Watch
• - Install more streetlights and lighted crosswalks to increase pedestrian safety and increase walkability

Healthy Living and Activities

• - Green Thumbs: create more community clean up days - start with a small area and then expand
• - Add kid-friendly amenities/playgrounds to the downtown community garden and open on weekends to attract more families
  • - Could include solar charging stations and a solar-powered healthy vending machine
• - Expand the existing half-marathons to the downtown area to spread awareness of the area
• - Advocate for and create more health-related classes in schools (spinning, diet, activity, etc.)
• - Increase the amount of plants and trash cans and fix dilapidated streets
• - Partner with Bay Area Rescue Mission to get more homeless people off of the streets - add classes for job placement and health care services

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• - Implement a bike share program to reduce carbon emissions and provide healthier commuting/transportation options
• - Hire a “Health Manager” for Richmond to coordinate healthy living proposals and recruit healthy restaurants to the downtown area
• - Make people more active and healthy by putting in a gym in the old Bank of America building (or another vacant space in downtown)
• - Create a marathon that goes through the Downtown area of Richmond
  • - Install more public playgrounds/recreation areas in vacant areas
• - Install a fruit-themed park with slides and swings that look like food to promote healthy eating and activity
• - The Richmond Main Street Farmers’ Market could create their own mobile farmers’ market to serve the city
• - Use empty space for housing and services for the city’s homeless population
• - Add to and/or renovate Richmond Downtown shopping center to make it more pedestrian-friendly
• - Install more public playgrounds/recreation areas in vacant areas
• - Create a community center with youth groups and activities
• - Make a roller rink to increase physical activity and provide a safe place where teens can have fun

The students considered the following sub-questions: How can youth help downtown businesses bridge the digital divide now and in the future? What is the role of technology in achieving a healthy, vibrant, youth-friendly downtown? What do businesses need, and what infrastructure is necessary? 

Recommendations:

When thinking about how to make Downtown Richmond more youth-friendly and digitally connected, many of us began thinking about the importance of wi-fi access and how to leverage new technologies to make Richmond cleaner, safer, and more inviting to residents and tourists. Because public transportation is vital for young people’s access to different parts of the community, our recommendations focus on improving transportation options and amenities in the Downtown area.

- Richmond Main Street could help businesses partner with student interns from the IT Academy to help build their social media presence (Yelp, Facebook, Instagram pages)

- Create a free wifi network in the downtown area

- We want there to be a community-friendly bike culture in Richmond that helps businesses and citizens thrive

- Work with the city to provide grants and other opportunities for Rich City Rides to expand their educational programs

- Provide healthier alternatives by providing healthy snack vending machines

- Install solar powered street lamp posts that include free wifi hotspots and charging outlets for phones

- Bus stops should have solar powered charging station and lights with wifi access: people will feel safer, be able to use the internet more, and it may increase use of public transportation

Our students collectively have about 45 strong ideas that would make for an inviting, youth-friendly and equitable Downtown Oakland. The bulk of their recommendations, however focus on gentrification prevention and providing safe spaces for youth.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

• - Increased numbers of trash cans on the street with attractive and fun details
• - Light up crosswalks to help people cross the street
• - Increase numbers of creative seating for little kids, teens and the elderly
• - Build parklets on vacant lots and in other underused spaces 

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• - Mandate liquor stores to sell more affordable and healthy food options
• - Public youth centers with academic support services, mentoring, art/music studios, athletic gyms, with affordable/healthy food provided
• - More homeless shelters and therapy support for the homeless
• - A significant amount of affordable housing for people earning minimum wage
• - A Black Panther Monument to commemorate their activism in Oakland and beyond
• - Installment of gender neutral bathrooms in public places
• - A shopping mall with stores of local designers

In order to attract more youth to Downtown Oakland we recommend that the city invest resources into creating affordable, healthy spaces for youth to be in.  We also recommend that the city think critically about how people are being displaced due to the huge increase in rent and stagnant income.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• - Public gardens; Costs: space and labor needed.
• - Youth Center;  Costs: space and services provided.
• - Affordable housing;  Costs:  Not as desirable for investors.
• - More retail;  Costs:  space; operation costs; big business may take away from local business
• - Mixed use buildings; Costs:  space, many policies need to be approved
• - Social services; Costs:  may need to redirect tax money to make better use of pre-existing agencies.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-Students frequently rush to school to avoid being late and often jaywalk in order to get to school faster.
-Pedestrians tend to cross street middle of the street in order to access bus stops located in the middle of street blocks far from intersections.
-High rates of jaywalking could occur due to lack of police enforcement or lack of a crossing guard during school hours.
-Pedestrian accidents at intersections around our school could be due to a lack of camera to enforce speed limits or a lack of traffic islands.
-According to our survey, 33% of pedestrian respondents do not feel safe when crossing the intersection at Flatlands Avenue and Ralph Avenue.
-According to our survey, 17.7% of pedestrian respondents have witnessed an incident or an ‘almost’ incident at the intersection at Flatlands Avenue and Ralph Avenue which included either a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a motorist.
-According to our survey, 70% of pedestrian respondents said they always take safety precautions when crossing the street, while 11% said they take precautions once in a while.
-According to our survey, 67.7% of pedestrians cross the street at the light the majority of the time, 65% say they cross at any point, not necessarily waiting for the red light, and 59% say that they jaywalk and cross at the middle of the street.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations state our goals to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities at the intersection of Flatlands Avenue and Ralph Avenue. In the short-term we think that increasing school and outside community awareness of pedestrian safety and Vision Zero will decrease pedestrian related accidents. In the long-term, we propose infrastructure improvements to make our streets and intersections safer for pedestrian and student crossing.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-A good way to promote awareness of safe street crossing is creating stickers for our students and placing it on their IDs that they use on a daily basis. Students use these IDs to enter the school building, so they need them everyday.
-These sticker logos can be enlarged into posters and placed at available bus stops to serve not only our school community, but also communities across the city.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Flatlands Avenue is a very large block, which students from our school exit from. Add a traffic island to the intersection of Flatlands Avenue and Ralph Avenue.
-The intersection of Flatlands Avenue and Ralph Avenue is very long, with traffic travelling from 5 different directions. Perhaps the presence of traffic police during school hours and for rush hour will help pedestrians feel safer and encourage pedestrians to cross at the streetlight only at a red light.
-The city should add an additional cross light at the middle of the street where students are dropped off at the bus stop for school. This would encourage pedestrians to cross at a designated streetlight rather than jaywalk.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

Many people aren’t aware of Vision Zero statistics and their positive impacts. The Department of Transportation should come into schools more often, regardless of the grade level. Our client from Vision Zero visited our classroom and students were engaged and interested in the conversation

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-We helped the participatory budgeting committee create visuals for the community to see so that they could make an informed choice when voting on the PB projects.
-When creating the visuals we had to research the DOT and Parks Dept. Regulations for public spaces.
-We created renderings of our design ideas and improvements.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Our five key recommendations to use PB funds to benefit the community were: add a community seating area to Taaffe Park; make Msgr. McGolrick Park safer; make street safety Improvements near P.S.16; improve pedestrian safety on Meeker Avenue; and add real time arrival signage for the B44 Bus Route. The project we will implement is in McGolrick Park between Nassau Ave & Driggs Ave, Russell & Monitor St. We propose to use PB funds to repave walkways within park as not covered under existing plans. This will provide a safe surface for kids to place and is accessible to wheelchair bound residents.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-Complete design ides for our Msgr. McGolrick Park sidewalk paving.
-Work with Participatory Budgeting Project and Councilman Levin’s Office to fund this project.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Of our five initial proposals, only the McGolrick park safety idea gained enough votes to receive funding.
-The project goes to the NYC parks department for bidding on the job. Once a contractor is chosen the sidewalks around the park will be fixed.
-The process could take around 2 years to complete.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

-Continue partnership with Councilman Levin’s Office and PB for the 2016-2017 school year.
-Find out which issues are important to the community members and construct new PB ideas.

Strategies for next year:  

-Survey the community
-Assist in project design
-Help with social media campaign

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-According to the pre-2009 definition, there was a 30% decline in domestic violence homicides in Queens from 10 in 2001 to 7 in 2012. 

-According to the pre-2009 definition, there was a 61% decline in Brooklyn – from 18 in 2001 to 7 in 2012.

-Since 2001, domestic violence homicides in Brooklyn have declined by 33%, dropping from 18 in 2001 to 12 in 2012.                                                                           

-Without help, girls who witness domestic violence are more vulnerable to abuse as teens and adults.

-Without help, boys who witness domestic violence are far more likely to become abusers of their partners and/or children as adults, thus continuing the cycle of violence in the next generation.

-According to the CDC, the overall lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence is 1 in 3 females and 1 in 4 males                                                                                                            

-Most cases of intimate partner violence are not reported

-The severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence.

-Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious consequences by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.

-Being physically or sexually abused makes teen girls six times more likely to become pregnant and twice as likely to get a STI.

-81% of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.

-Though 82% of parents feel confident that they could recognize the signs if their child was experiencing dating abuse, a majority of parents (58%) could not correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Develop a written task for a city-wide contest, which would consist of words and arts submissions from teens (grades 7-12+) that address the issue of intimate partner violence, honor survivors, raise awareness about the extent to which IPV occurs and highlight the many lifesaving services offered by the Family Justice Centers. Submissions of all types would be collected and ultimately result in a large-scale, publicized (hopefully) exhibition. Begin promoting the contest on social media and develop posters and fliers to send out to NYC middle and high schools

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Promote the contest on social media websites: Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. that lists the teen-friendly awards for submissions (iPhone or other brand of cell phone case - with FJC information on the inside, iPhone or other brand of cell phone accessories, coupons or gift cards to popular restaurants and stores, discounts on applying to college, discounts for taking the SAT. Larger prizes could include tablets, cell phones, laptops, scholarships, etc.

-Develop posters and fliers to submit to NYC middle and high schools.
-Promote the contest in high traffic areas such as public transportation stations and vehicles.
-Pitch the contest to magazines and newspapers.
-Train student ambassadors to travel to schools and teach about the contest and its importance during town hall meetings, classroom visits, etc.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Develop partnerships with NYC colleges to involve student interns for submission collecting, and exhibition design (part of a sociology/urban planning coursework).
-Collect student submissions and select pieces to exhibit.
-Secure a location to display the exhibition.
-Create ads for subsequent contests with images of submissions from the previous contest.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

-Create the contest task to be sent to schools and post in electronic and print media.

-Begin promoting the contest on social media and develop posters and fliers to send out to NYC middle and high schools.

-Create a virtual example of how the exhibition will be curated .

-Gather a team of student interns to serve as ambassadors to promote the contest at NYC schools.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-After surveying the community, we found that many people do not know what Illegal Conversion is.
-We came across the most problems while surveying the communities and demographics that tend to have the most cases of illegal conversion, because many of them are immigrant or non-English speaking members of the community.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-The city government needs to educate the community about what illegal conversion is, how to recognize it, how to avoid it, and what to do if they are victim to it. The community can be educated through social media. Social media is a cheap and effective way to transmit messages to the public.
-Government officials can also partner with community centers in areas where illegal conversion complaints are the largest or where common victims are concentrated. Utilizing community centers in these areas would allow for direct contact with community members. These centers can also have government officials located in these centers for complaints to be made in person.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Build more affordable housing. As much money as possible needs to be put toward creating more affordable housing in New York City.
-Create heavy fines for landlords and government officials. Not only should the landlords converting and renting their dwellings to multiple tenants be fined, but also the government officials assigned to the job should be penalized for their lack of action.
-Spread awareness about rental assistance programs, for working New Yorkers, like a One Shot Deal.
-Construct more apartments for poor and less for the rich. Gentrification is a related cause of illegal conversion. Tenants are being forced out of their neighborhoods and apartments with nowhere to go. 
-The existing apartments/dwellings in NYC need regulations to make them more accessible to our community. Implementing a cap on rent increases and more salary based renting would begin to alleviate the pressures that renters experience.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

-The Government needs to allocate more money to creating affordable housing.
-Landlords need to be held accountable for their actions. Fines should be implemented.
-Tenants should be knowledgeable of their options and the hazards of Illegal conversion.  

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-Meeting with school principal, teachers and non-academic staff- most people believe that Global Warming is real but they do not consciously attempt to conserve energy.
-Field trip to The Museum of Natural History.
-Apple Meeting - a majority of their devices are reused, recycled and toxic free.
-Community interaction with nearby public school P.S. 29 and trip to Covanta- where waste is reused for electricity in Long Island.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In an attempt to decrease the energy consumption within our school environment, we shall:

-Reduce the amount of paper being used and replace it with Internet technology.                                                                                                                                                                  -
-Create a garden to support the efforts of our culinary program.
-Create awareness by engaging other students to participate for the overall benefit of our school.
-Renew our recycling efforts and equip the school with water sensors.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-Allow teachers and students to communicate their work online through Google drive and email. In order to do this we will need more access to the Mac lab.

-Team members, with the help of the school staff and students, must promote their ideas and find grants to fund and put these projects into action.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Increase the use of technology within the school environment to reduce energy waste.

-Set meetings and events to build clubs about energy efficiency. This will promote leadership opportunities for more students and full participation in the school community.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

By successfully putting this project together and into action, there will be means to further influence incoming students and other schools throughout the Brooklyn community and beyond.

Events should be planned to celebrate the efforts of participants.

Community service opportunities may also be an option for those who want to be involved in this manner.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

MOCDV (Mayor’s Office To Combat Domestic Violence) came to our class to give us a workshop about domestic abuse.
After our workshops, 84% of students who attended could identify at least one type of abuse (Emotional, Financial, Physical, Sexual, and Verbal).
We learned that men can also be victims of domestic abuse, and they don’t have to be LGBT.

-We hosted our own workshops for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders at our school to spread awareness.
-We conducted a post-survey at our workshop to gain data.
-We gave out cookies with the domestic violence hotline number.

-MOCDV provides many services to survivors of domestic abuse:

-Food + Clothes
-Secure environment
-Daycare
-Arts

-We visited the locations of these services and learned that:
-The food selection at these shelter services was low.
-More people need to know about the secure, safe, friendly environment in the services.
-The children were entertained and well taken care of while victims were getting help.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-Bake cookies with the domestic abuse hotline on them so that people can get the number without being conspicuous about taking the number.  
-Partner-up with other culinary high schools that could help prepare the cookies for the MOCDV.
-Involve soup kitchens throughout the city by providing them with the ingredients and instructions to make the cookies for their clients.
-Organize a can drive in our school to donate to the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Coordinate with local bakeries for production and distribution of cookies with hotline number.
-Implement a baking class at the Family Justice Centers to train victims to take over the cookie production and bring awareness and empowerment to our community.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

-The DOE will include “our recipe for self love” into the culinary arts curriculum.
-The MOCDV will find soup kitchens that will donate cookies and FJCs where baking classes can be held.
-George Westinghouse students will look for bakeries to donate cookies and plan baking classes for long-term goals.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-In the school year of 2013-2014, over 84,000 students in New York City public schools were homeless. 117,000 students have been homeless at some point during the last four years- this represents one out of every nine students in New York City public schools. 
-On average, 10% of all New York City students scheduled to graduate in school year 2013-14 dropped out prior to graduation. In our own School District 14, 18.9%-23.3% of students in  public school dropout.
-The overall citywide four-year graduation rate in school year 2013-14 in New York City was 69%.
-The citywide pass rate for all students in the school year 2013-14, for the 3rd-8th grade State English Language Arts tests was 28%.
-The citywide pass rate for all students on the school year 2013-14 3rd-8th grade State Math tests was 34%.

-After site-mapping the Flushing Avenue shelter in District 14, we found that the resource room was only open from 3-6pm.
-The resource room was being shared with after-school programs for elementary and middle school students.
-Computers located in the resource room were non-accessible and were covered. When we asked whether the computers were working, we were told that they were non-working.
-The staff members in the homeless shelter were overwhelmed with responsibilities, and there is not enough funding for activities and field trips that promote career and college readiness.
-Within our own school, we learned that there is a high percentage of students in temporary housing as well as the other two schools in Grand Street Campus.
-In an interview, a student from our school who shared his experiences in temporary housing stated that motivation to do well in school helped him to be successful and college ready.  However, this student was from a well-funded housing shelter that has a special leadership program called SIMBA. This leadership program helped him to visit colleges, attend weekly    peer meetings, engage in leadership activities and tutoring sessions, and provided help getting started applying for colleges and scholarships. 
-After the interview, we learned that students were scared to reveal the whole truth about their feelings and their well being because of the possibility of ACS getting involved in the family  matters.
-We learned from the DHS that there is an incentive program for high school seniors in temporary housing to receive a free laptop when they graduate and get accepted into college.
-When we asked, the staff in the temporary housing shelter said that teenagers in temporary housing need clothing, school supplies, and incentive programs to get better grades.

RECOMMENDATIONS

-Dedicate one college advisor for each school district to students in temporary housing.
-Offer laptop carts/ipads that students in temporary housing can sign out on a weekly basis for homework, college and career research, etc.
-Create a paid peer mentoring after-school program for students in temporary housing.
-Create a website and/or application dedicated to all high school students in NYC that directs them to one place to get resources about college and career readiness and support -resources for teens. 

Example resources: Job postings, healthcare, financial aid, scholarships, college info, SAT prep courses, and tutoring.
We should also promote this app because students use their phones constantly and will likely lose a brochure.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-Donate Laptops and desktops to Flushing Avenue Shelter.
-Initiate a clothing drive for students in temporary housing, because students can only take few items with them to the shelter and access to name brand clothing will increase their morale and self-esteem.
-Register students in temporary housing to SAT Prep programs.
-Distribute school supplies to temporary housing shelters and STH liaisons to give to students.
-Institute peer group connection mentoring programs that link high school seniors with STH students.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-Hire college advisors for every shelter to give students in temporary housing another opportunity to immerse themselves in the next phase of their academic life. Most Students in temporary housing have difficulties finding and applying for college, so having a dedicated college advisor at the shelter will help them through the process.
-Create a website/app dedicated to high school students in NYC that has useful college/career information that support student in temporary housing to pursue their education and stay informed on where to start looking for colleges and how to decide what they want to pursue in the future.
-Institute financial planners in every family shelter to help STH and their parents to learn on how to gain financial stability and to invest/save to gain more money.
-Provide yearly college visits.
-Provide paid internships throughout the school year to cater to students’ interests and careers.
-Plan an annual graduation dinner for students in temporary housing and their families.
-Create a contest, offering the student with the highest GPA a free weekend in the city donated by NYC hotels.
-Implement a special graduation reception city-wide for high school seniors in temporary housing.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

Y-PLAN students will visit District 14 local shelters to see how to best implement the desktops and laptops that were donated by our school and by Progress High School.
Work with STH liaison to promote college trips and special events.
Create a partnership with a tech company to create website or application for high school students to prepare for college and careers.

Use school survey to better understand our student population and their needs. 

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

We collected, reviewed, and analyzed data about the students who currently serve on YLCs in relation to the overall data about students in the city.
We and NYC Service Youth Leadership Councils seek to increase participation in underrepresented demographics:

-Freshman

-Males

-Asian

-Multiracial

-Middle-Eastern

-North-African

RECOMMENDATIONS

We propose a systematic approach to engaging the underrepresented groups by “jump-starting” the YLC framework through the following steps.

-Engage underrepresented group on established common ground.
-Utilize an established channel of outreach as a group.
-Host and reflect on the community outreach activity.
-Establish an authentic Youth Leadership Council.

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

-We modeled our proposed YLC framework as a case study.
-We found common ground on the issue of homelessness, and will seek to address homelessness through collaboration.
-We will engage as a group in an established channel of outreach - The Bowery Mission.
-We are also expanding by teaming up with the National Honor Society chapter at our school on the activity.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

-The longer-term effects of the jump-start Youth Leadership will systematically grow the initiative through action and reflection.

-The Y-PLAN and YLC initiatives have similar goals and can pipeline each other.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

From here, we will follow our own suggestions by reflecting on our experiences and consider the viability of forming a new YLC targeting homelessness.

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

-Student Observations from Urban Inspiration Tour

• Faded/confusing crosswalks.
• Many cars double park.
• Myrtle Wyckoff intersection the train is a distraction for the pedestrians.
• Myrtle Wyckoff has three streets converging, can be very confusing.
• Many pedestrian strongly agreed that they have almost got hit by a car.

-35 fatalities resulting from traffic crashes in the United States as of February 29, 2016.
-7,538 injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States as of February 29, 2016.
-Our survey data indicates that 75% of respondents say they jaywalk constantly.
-80% of survey respondents know what Vision Zero is.

RECOMMENDATIONS

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

• Implement a “LOOK !” on the crosswalks.
• Repaint the crosswalk so people know where to walk and the cars know where to stop.
• Implement a bump in front of school in attempts to cause cars to slow down. Put a speed bump in front of our school.
• Posters. Hang up posters around our community indicating ways to be safer and alert.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

• Hire more crossing guards.
• Reconstruct sidewalks and streets.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

-Present to our client at the Department of Transportation

-Present our findings to the under classmen at our schools as well as students at neighboring Middle Schools

The students considered the following sub-question: How can students and council people make the Broadway Corridor a more efficient, safe, and beautiful place for residents, seniors, and young people?

YOUTH DRIVEN DATA AND INSIGHTS

• Students conducted community mapping exercises to examine local strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Students participated in existing meetings with local stakeholders and connected with those stakeholders to conduct local surveys and interviews.
• Students performed a public safety survey during a town hall meeting.
• Community members agreed that Broadway should become great again and have more attractions.
• Compstat report showed crime complaints, arrests and summons activities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Turn 2.5 Miles of Broadway in an Art District
• Create a Merchants Association
• Create Citizens on Patrol  (COP)
• Resurface 2.5 Miles of Broadway

SHORT-TERM (1-6 Months)

Merchants Association:  The first step to revitalize this area is to organize the existing business owners in a Merchants Association. One of the Goals of the Association would be to turn Broadway into an art walk/district. The creation of the Aasociation is a six to nine month process in which local merchants are educated about the benefits of belonging to a Merchants Association.  EBC HS students have been working with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in creating such an organization.

LONG-TERM (1-3 Years)

Art Walk/District: Once local merchants are organized, we hope to gain their support and cooperation to designate the Broadway corridor into an Art Walk and Art District.  We envision a Broadway in which every metal gate and every possible surface is painted in rich murals. The creation of these murals would be completed with the full permission of business owners and in some cases city agencies such as the MTA and the Department of City Planning. We envision that this will significantly increase foot traffic in the area. We believe that as the murals are completed, people will visit the area to take in all the free art.  As foot traffic increases, the demand for goods and services will also increase. We estimate that many new jobs will be created as a result of this increased demand.  We specifically anticipate that jobs will be made available to local artists and students who will paint the murals.

NEXT STEPS AND SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY:

The next step is to meet with local merchants to implement a Merchant's Association.

• Attend the next community board meeting to discuss the idea with local residents.
• Acquire the requisite applications and instruct local merchants on how this process works.
• Have a lengthy discussion with the elected officials who represent this area.

Students identified the main issues with commuting to school: congestion and safety. While many students live near each other, they are driven to and from school by their parents separately. The team took a survey to see how many students would be interested in carpooling with each other. Of the 143 students surveyed, 80% said they would. The students also worked with nearby universities to begin calculations on the amount of carbon saved when carpooling to add further encouragement. The students are currently working on the app and hope to have the beta version available for students to test soon.

With increased urbanization, the amount of green space has diminished in many Chinese cities. The Jingshan High students' main objective was to provide students with not only more green space, but also a place to have fun. The students came up with a few plans for the rooftop park, working both with the principal and the school community. Their first attempts were rejected because of costs and design. Undiscouraged, the team went back to the drawing board and came up with their third plan that used potted plants and flowers, providing greenery and flexibility. They needed flexibility, as half of the space will be used for school functions. The watering system will be solar powered.

Yihai high school students went to the community first to find out what needed to be done to improve conditions. They began their research by surveying and interviewing residents in the community. Community members surveyed identified the following as major issues in the community: (1) Parking management (2) public sanitation (illegal dumping of furniture and trash) (3) lack of community/recreational activities. Their teacher helped them find their client--the head of the Yihai Management Company. He agreed that more needed to be done to deal with illegal dumping, recycling, and parking in their community. The students developed an online platform, called the “Yihai Volunteer Service Platform”. Students and residents can volunteer to clean up, help with parking, organize activities, and get rid of unwanted items. This platform has now been integrated into an application. In parallel to their work on this project, the management company was developing an application for residents. The Management Company has since incorporated the students’ ideas into their app, which will be used in other communities throughout Beijing.

In Fall 2014, students from MetWest High School in Oakland worked with AC Transit, on its Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) to improve their service to better serve riders in the Bay Area. Advisory students from MetWest's junior class researched solutions to improve bus service for their client, AC Transit transportation planner, Stephen Newhouse. During the semester, students conducted action research including site visits, surveys and interviews to collect community input on how to improve service without increasing costs. Students collected over 200 surveys and found that riders were most concerned about the frequency of buses, and safety. The students recommended removing certain bus stops, splitting bus routes, consolidating routes to increase frequency, and adding shelters and benches, and installing cameras to improve safety. Transportation planners used their findings to inform the first phase of the COA.

To address the haphazard way people dispose of their electronic devices, Team Re-e-cyclists conducted a survey to seek a solution to the problem. They distributed 972 questionnaires, 960 of which were answered online. Most respondents found it difficult to find recycling bins or did not know how to recycle their electronics. Based on their survey findings, they made the following recommendations:

1. Distribute recycling bins in every residence district, enabling citizens to reach one within walking distance.
2. Develop a set of reward system to incent citizens.
3. Advertise the recycling program through social media sites such as a Wechat Official Account, IOS apps, posters, games, or online animated advertisements.
4. Work with mapping platforms such as Google Earth or Baidu Map, making it easier for citizens to locate the nearest recycling center.

The team has developed a better-designed recycling bin, identified the most trafficked locations, and the most convenient routes. They have also designed two IOS-based applications, which include the introduction to the recycling program along with an exchange system, and the second, which is a game called "Flappy Ewaste" adapted from the worldwide game "Flappy Bird"™.

Food waste is a major issue for high schools. Kongjiang high school students focused on reducing waste by reducing the amount of food provided and by composting leftover food. Their school canteen provides food for two different menus. However, students usually prefer one to the other, which caused a lack of one and waste of the other. The team recommended allowing students to select the menus one week in advance and the menu was put on the school website to let students vote so that the canteen orders the right amount of food and reduces waste. The school plans to buy a kitchen garbage processor to turn kitchen waste into organic fertilizer. To deal with the fertilizer, they formed a partnership with the No. 1 High School affiliated with Tongji University, which has the largest green area in Yangpu District and share the fertilizer with them. The students have also reached out to surrounding high schools and nearby Yangpu Park to make use of the fertilizer.

The students worked with architectural educator Shirl Buss from the University of California, Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools and Rommel Taylor, Prescott Reavis, and Katherine Williams from the San Francisco Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects. Together we engaged in a series of hands-on architecture and planning projects to identify and document our visions for how the parks and public space in this development can catalyze positive change in the community. Some of the goals for the project were: 

° To engage students in research about their school and community

° To augment academic learning objectives: study of scale, sustainability, and cultural influences in design.

° To honor students' voices by creating and presenting their ideas in drawings, models, and artifacts.

° To create opportunities for oral and visual presentation using the oral presentation rubric.

° To ensure that ideas developed are linked into the broader Hunters View revitalization plan.

For two years, the students at Malcolm X Academy have been engaged in a series of hands-on architecture and planning projects focused on these questions. In this Think Tank we have generated designs around the themes of healthy living, and sustainable building practices. We have also been working with teens from the HOPE SF Youth Leadership Academy on Promontory Park and public spaces in the HOPE SF Hunters View park and public space.

For three years, the 3rd and 4th grade students at Malcolm X Academy have been engaged in a series of hands-on architecture and planning projects focused on these questions. In this year’s Think Tank the children worked with architects Shirl Buss from the UC Berkeley Center for Cities & Schools and Prescott Reavis, and Katherine Williams from the San Francisco Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects on a series of hands-on architecture and planning projects. The students engaged in thinking about the relationship between the school and the larger community, and have learned about how they can play a role in being a catalyst for positive change.

Towers of Power: The children built individual towers featuring adjectives describing themselves. Then they paired up and joined their towers together by building a symbolic bridge containing ingredients that represented their commonalities. 

Friendship Bridges: Inspired by images of bridges from around the world, the students worked in pairs to design and build a bridge—to symbolically integrate themes of importance and relevance to each individual in the pair.

Community Connections: The students explored how learning landscapes—pathways, landmarks and amenities in the school—can connect with buildings and landscapes in Hunters View housing development to be constructed adjacent to the school.

Learning Landscapes: Each student created a scaled 2-dimensional collage—either in Plan View or in Elevation—to communicate their best ideas about how to treat the public corridor between the school and community.

Gateways and Pathways: The students generated a menu of options for how to make public spaces in the new community child-friendly. Their ideas included: walking paths, mazes, gateways, shaded places to gather, exercise stations, and art paths.

Bridges to Our Future: Students worked in two person teams to apply their ideas to a scale models of the where the school site meets the planned Hunters View park. The main features included a Heroes Wall; Vegetable Gardens; Gateways; and an Observation Tower to view the SF Bay.

The student proposals include: two different approaches to developing the outdoor learning area, one focused on Malcolm X and cultural themes related to the school community, and the other focused on the larger community and cultural themes for the HOPE SF housing development. Each contains shade structure and learning tools; gathering and reflective circle; pathways and gateways; planting beds for fruits and vegetables; and flowers and trees. Both proposals incorporate water and wind harvest and conservation, as well as healthy food production and consumption.

 In 2012, HUD awarded the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) a $300,000 Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Planning Grant to revitalize the Mott Haven neighborhood in the South Bronx. Focus areas include: rehabilitation of affordable housing, improving education and health, increasing public safety and economic development, and developing healthier environments and parks. This year, students at The Academy of Language and Technology (ALT) partnered with LISC NYC to provide youth insight and evidence-based recommendations to inform the community-driven planning process. LISC provided students with considerable autonomy to investigate a specific issue within these focus areas. Through community research and mapping, students focused their efforts on increasing access to fresh, healthy foods, and revitalizing an underutilized community center. Through their research, students identified public safety as a major community challenge and are in the process of developing strategies and recommendations to Improve safety, increase public awareness, and target park and recreational programming to better meet the needs of young people and families within the Mott Haven Choice Neighborhood. 

 Although SNAP cards are widely accepted at farmers markets across Washington D.C., they are largely underutilized. Sixth grade Cultural Geography students at Cesar Chavez Prep Middle School worked with local farmers markets in NW Washington, DC, to assess barriers and opportunities to increase access and patronage of low-income residents to healthy, fresh foods at local farmers markets. Students examined healthy food access from an equity lens within the context of an Environmental Justice unit. To understand local context and needs of the community, students used Census Data to map income levels in the surrounding community (NW Washington, DC), and then layered the data with the location of farmers markets to understand the way income level corresponds to availability and access to fresh food. 

 In October 2010, the City of Oakland was awarded a TIGER II Planning Grant Program through the US Department of Transportation and US Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate a planning effort for two redevelopment areas, including West Oakland. The purpose of the West Oakland Specific Plan is to develop innovative strategies to revitalize select vacant and underutilized commercial and industrial sites in West Oakland. The plan will focus on leveraging West Oakland’s assets, and supporting and attracting commercial and light-industrial enterprises to provide jobs and services for West Oakland residents and the larger community. In addition, a key element of the plan is reclaiming the identity of West Oakland through guarding and place-making of gateways and corridors into the neighborhood. City of Oakland recognizes that student voice is critical to activating and stewarding the West Oakland Specific Plan, and this fall, looked to students at McClymonds High School to be the voice to inform what these welcome points to West Oakland will look like. Students worked with UC Berkeley student mentors, city planners and community leaders to map assets, challenges, interview residents, and create evidence-based solutions for change. Students presented their proposals to a panel of civic leaders and community stakeholders who will take student’s insight into consideration in implementing the West Oakland Specific Plan. 

Detroit is recognized as one of the largest food deserts in the country, a poster child for the economic decline of shrinking cities, and arguably home to one of the most challenged public school districts. Equity advocates, city planners, and education reformers are coming together to create a healthy, vibrant Detroit after decades of disinvestment. This Y-PLAN project builds on three years of Y-PLAN Detroit, engaging over 300 Detroit Public School students across four middle schools in defining key priorities and proposals to build healthy schools and a healthy Detroit. Initiated by a partnership with Kellogg Foundation funded Diversity Data Kids Project, the Y-PLAN Detroit initiatives enables students to develop 21st Century skills, such as STEM, through the use of innovative strategies including animation, cartooning, and community journalism to create proposals and help peers understand critical community issues such as the impact that chronic illnesses like diabetes and obesity have on Detroit residents.

 The new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dramatically changes the way public education will be funded in California, presenting an opportunity for more local control, greater transparency, and equity. Achieving these promises necessitates authentic community input in the creation of Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) to identify goals and determine the way funding will be spent. As the recipients of LCAPs, Berkeley Unified School District recognizes that creating pathways for authentic student voice in the LCAP process is essential to the success of this policy. During the course of the semester, seniors at Berkeley High Green Academy took action to identify key priorities and strategies for the way Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) should allocate LCFF funding to create a healthy and equitable Berkeley High. 

 The new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dramatically changes the way public education will be funded in California, presenting an opportunity for more local control, greater transparency, and equity through the creation of Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs). As the recipients of LCAPs, West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) recognizes that creating pathways for authentic student voice in the LCAP process is essential to the success of this policy. For the past semester, WCCUSD has partnered with Y-PLAN at Richmond High School to examine the school environment from a health perspective and identify priorities for LCAPs. Students created, distributed, and analyzed over 60 community surveys that asked students to define a healthy school, community, and learning environment. Student surveys revealed a high level of overlap between the social, emotional, physical, and environmental factors that structure the health of schools and the larger community. As one student wrote, a healthy school is defined as “A school with fresh lunches. People would remain tolerant of different beliefs, ethnicities, and sexual orientation (no bullying), and students and teachers would be enthusiastic about learning.” 

The Trinity Corridor Project is the most complex and the largest public-works and urban development effort undertaken by the City of Dallas. It encompasses 10,000 acres, including an 8,000 acre urban hardwood forest. The City owns 6,200 acres of what is known as the Great Trinity Forest, one of the most unique features in the world found in a large city. Recreation opportunities include a horse park, trails, gateways, soft-surface trails, amphitheater, and kayaking. However, many people, including young people, do not have easy access or know that these opportunities and resources exist. The Balanced Vision Plan (2013) includes 4 guiding principles: Flood Protection, Environmental Restoration, Recreation, and Transportation. The City partnered with Woodrow Wilson Academy of Finance to gain a youth perspective on how to manage the land, impact stewardship in a positive way, increase access, and engage neighborhoods near the forest.

The internet is essential to post-secondary success in the 21st century, yet many individuals lack affordable access. This “Digital Divide,” or the disparities between individuals who have access to technology, and those who do not, is spatial and socio-economic in nature. During this semester-long project, 6th grade students at Cesar Chavez Parkside Middle School researched the way the Digital Divide impacts residents in the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood. Students worked with DC Promise Neighborhoods Initiative to map internet access and surveyed over 216 residents to understand barriers and opportunities to affordable and equitable internet access. Students presented their proposals to a panel of stakeholders from the local internet provider, Comcast, and DCPNI.

The redevelopment of the 11th Street bridge connecting Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill and Anacostia neighborhoods will transform the old infrastructure into the city’s first elevated park. This project presents an opportunity to unite historically divided communities through shared civic space for healthy recreation, environmental education, and the arts. Y-PLAN Civic Client Scott Kratz of Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), commissioned students at Cesar Chavez Capitol Hill campus to create prototypes to inspire a significant piece of public art that has been commissioned for the park. Throughout the past year, students conducted research, site mapping, and interviews with long-time residents to learn about the history of Navy Yard and Anacostia. Students worked together in teams to bring their individual visions to life in the creation of five prototype pieces of public art that simultaneously honor the individual identities and unity of these two communities. Student work was displayed in THEARC gallery, illustrating the capacity of public art to unify communities as a tool to stimulate critical community conversations.

Richmond’s south shoreline area has long been separated from the rest of the Richmond by freeways and railroad tracks. With businesses, shoreline parks, the marina, the Bay Trail, and views of the Bay, the south shoreline is a great place to be.  However, it is not very easy to get to, especially if you do not drive or have a car.  As a result, not everyone in the community has easy access, and many people cannot take advantage of the amenities in their own community. Between September-December 2013, 10th grade students at Richmond High School Health Academy were commissioned by the City of Richmond to create a community survey to identify community transportation issues and opportunities to inform the South Richmond Connectivity Plan (SRTCP). As a formal task written into the South Richmond Transportation Connectivity Plan, in many ways, this project set a new bar for Y-PLAN projects, and the potential of young people and schools to be formally included and recognized as essential parts of the community planning process.

Despite innovative advances in technology, people with hearing loss experience challenges with every day issues such as health, communication, and safety when it comes to navigating the city. Students at Grover Cleveland High School partnered with the Center for Hearing and Communication and engaged in an intensive workshop on hearing loss to lay the foundation for the creation of innovative open-source apps “to generate real life solutions to some very everyday issues that people with hearing loss have in navigating New York City and life in general.” Students mapped the city, conducted interviews and community research, and created a range of innovative open source Android Apps designed to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers with hearing loss.

Joseph S. Clark High School integrated Y-PLAN into its 9th grade literature class, beginning with a reading on Richard Wright’s Black Boy, where students connected the book’s hunger themes to their own themes of hunger within New Orleans.  Students spent the school year under the guidance of Clark teachers and cross-sector community partners developing proposals to satisfy what they are hungry to see more of within the school’s neighborhood, specifically focusing on informing community-oriented programming beneath and around the “Claiborne Bridge.”

     Students took a cross-disciplinary approach to develop programming recommendations, by bringing in guest speakers, researching the community’s history, conducting neighborhood asset mapping, working in teams drafting multiple proposals, and building a power point presentation. Students mapped a total of 75 lots along the Claiborne Corridor to assess lot type, building type, and building condition

     In order to “go public,” as part as Module 4, the students presented recommendations to officials at the City of New Orleans in April 2014.  Later in May, they presented before a national audience at the Coalition for Community Schools National Forum, in Cincinnati.

Included in their recommendations,  the students suggested to keep the I-10 overpass, as it is an important site for cultural and community events, like Mardi Gras, and an important source of transit for commuters and in case of hurricane evacuation.  Students also wanted to improve this existing resource by developing services along the corridor, and to put an emphasis on food trucks and markets. 

This past fall, Y-PLAN students at The Academy of Language and Technology in the Bronx launched their third year of Y-PLAN with youth-driven community action research. Students created, distributed, and analyzed over 200 surveys to identify critical issues in the Morris Heights neighborhood. With this data, students learned that safe and affordable housing for victims of domestic violence is a real concern for residents. This Spring, students partnered with the Violence Intervention Program to learn more about the issue, and plan to work with NYCHA to identify policies and solutions to allocate city resources to provide safe and affordable housing for survivors of domestic violence.

Academy of Innovative Technology (AOIT) 9th and 12th graders participated in a robust Pilot Roadtest focused on addressing the truancy issue at their school. The students honed in on the security scanners at the campus entrance as a main factor to tardiness, focusing on the project question: How does scanning slow down the education process? Students administered surveys, analyzed the data, and offered recommendations to increase freedom of access for students to the school. 

As part of Y-PLAN NYC Lead Teacher Andrew Woodbridge's Digital Apps Class at Grover Cleveland High School's Academy of Information Technology, students created a suite of digital apps in response to Council Member Elizabeth Crowley's request for them to create a digital tour of their neighborhood. Working in seven small groups, students created the following apps, which will be available for download on Google Play on January 19th, 2016: "Forest Park Attractions," "Who's Buried in Forest Park?," "Forest Park Birding," "Rocky's Forest Park Adventure," "A Tour of Forest & Highland Park," "Reservoir Racing," and "Sports Navigator." Students hosted a Digital Apps Forum on January 7th, 2016 to present their work to their client. Their Forum was attended by NYC Chancellor Fariña and spotlighted on the ABC 7 News.

Creating easy connections between diverse modes of transportation is a key priority for the City of Berkeley and the regional transportation department, AC Transit. In 2014, AC Transit received a US Department of Transportation grant to investigate the potential for creating safer routes to transit through bus stop bulb outs and parklets. AC Transit and The City of Berkeley partnered with Y-PLAN to engage Berkeley High School students in the identification of community transportation issues and opportunities, and the ideal corridors for implementation of these demonstration projects. In Spring 2015, students mapped businesses and bus stops and surveyed business owners and residents around many of Berkeley’s diverse neighborhoods. They then selected specific bus stops to transform into parklets, and built three-dimensional models which were exhibited during their final presentations in late April. AC Transit will use student suggestions to inform the creation of their first pilot parklet which will be built in Fall 2015.

In Fall 2014, students from MetWest High School in Oakland worked with AC Transit, on its  Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) to improve their service to better serve riders in the Bay Area. Advisory students from MetWest’s junior class researched solutions to improve bus service for their client, AC Transit transportation planner, Stephen Newhouse. During the semester, students conducted action research including site visits, surveys and interviews to collect community input on how to improve service without increasing costs. Students collected over 200 surveys and found that riders were most concerned about the frequency of buses, and safety. The students recommended removing certain bus stops, splitting bus routes, consolidating routes to increase frequency, and adding shelters and benches, and installing cameras to improve safety. Transportation planners used their findings to inform the first phase of the COA.

This spring, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and The City of Oakland have engaged 10th and 12th grade students from the Skyline High School Green Academy as co-researchers to generate data-driven proposals to increase sustainability of International Boulevard in the Fruitvale Area. Students have worked with planners and scientists to review the Oakland Environmental Climate Action Plan, and gather current climate emission data using the GLOBE CAP scientific protocols, including aerosol emissions and temperature monitoring. Students have developed creative solutions focusing on different themes such as alternative energy, waste management, and transportation to improve the environmental, social, and economic health of Fruitvale. 

For the fourth year, over one hundred students from the tsunami-struck region of Tohoku, Japan participated in the TOMODACHI Softbank Youth Leadership Program at UC Berkeley in the summer of 2015. A core of bilingual Y-PLAN instructors introduced the students to the realm of city planning and inspired them to think deeply about the civic and transit mechanisms at work in cities. Students were given a chance to try their hand at designing public spaces, and to critique the work of their peers. Students gained rich exposure to problem-solving techniques and leadership skills to make a difference in their respective communities. Students met with local Oakland civic and business leaders during this three week studio at the College of Environmental Design.

Students created a series of models and detailed drawings representing their proposals to integrate several features into their playground and the surrounding streets and sidewalks. These features considered safety, water conservation, healthy eating, wildlife, active living, plants and gardens, wind, gathering and relaxation, and composting and recycling. The students then presented their proposals to a panel of architects, landscape architects, planners, artists, professors, and representatives, the Director of Sustainability, and representatives from Walk SF and The Bicycle Coalition. This year the students will work with parents and the SFUSD to actually build some of their proposed ideas.

The City of Richmond recognizes youth insight as critical to the implementation of its Health in All Policies (HiAP) strategy. To this end, the City of Richmond engaged 265 students in Richmond High’s Health Academy to create adaptation and mitigation strategies to inform Climate Change Policy in Richmond. Each grade level focused on a different level including individual/household, schools, the City, and small businesses on how each sector could create change. Over 300 guests from The City, community organizations, parents and other stakeholders were in attendance to hear students’ findings and recommendations at the Y-PLAN Final Presentations in early May. The City will be implementing these recommendations into the youth element of their Climate Action Plan.

Students in Steve Coyle’s 11th Grade Engineering and Design class worked on engineering solutions to safer streets to help achieve NYC DOT Vision’s Zero’s Goals of eliminating traffic fatalities to zero by 2020. Students focused on a particular intersection near the Tech Triangle that has experienced an unusually high amount of traffic deaths. Students mapped and surveyed pedestrians along this intersection to inform their proposals. Proposals included new signage, speed bumps, and rumble strips around high priority intersections, increased enforcement of existing traffic codes, and youth outreach to promote community awareness.

More than three dozen educators, students, civic clients, and community partners from around the world collaborated in this Y-PLAN “Mini” during the 2015 Y-PLAN Global Conference. After Mr. Hamilton introduced the project, teams engaged in community mapping of the site, conducted informal surveys, analyzed their data, participated in brainstorming charrettes, created visual displays, and planned their pitches. The afternoon culminated at City Hall, where teams presented their visions for a sustainable, child and family friendly plaza to Mr. Hamilton. Teams of global Y-PLAN participants envisioned a greater youth friendly plaza with enhanced recreational, cultural, and art installations.