Under the visionary leadership of Annette S. Koh, a professor at Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental Design, our LA Hub is gearing up for inspiring work this spring. Cal Poly students are launching a pilot workshop series with city leaders and teens in Long Beach to examine how the city's parks can be more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.

We’re thrilled to share an update from our San José Hub led by our higher-ed partner, SJSU's Department of Child and Adolescent Development, under the leadership of Professor Ellen Middaugh. Since last fall, SJSU has worked with San José’s Department of Transportation and Escuela Popular on a pedestrian safety project related to Vision Zero.

Remembering the work and life of Prescott Reavis, an inspiring Y-PLAN mentor, teacher, and spatial activist.

During Summer 2021, UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools worked closely with community partners Global Seed and San José State University (SJSU) to recruit twelve high school students to participate in a two-week internship program with the goal of developing recommendations for Google’s new ‘Downtown West’ plan.

As the transition to online learning first rocked our world in Spring 2020, CC+S sprung into action and Y-PLAN Connects: Building Community in Place was born. The strategy had great success and of course a few surprises along the way.

Improving education and cultivating civic agency through developing real world skills, practices, and partnerships.

Transportation provides access to all other arenas of life. Y-PLAN scholars suggest improvements to provide greater and more equitable connection, safety, dignity and opportunities.

California is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. Young people across the state feel its pressures, and they know how to help.

“How can you expect us to come up with solutions for revitalizing our community when we just lost everything?”

This year, fifth grade students at Verde Elementary School in North Richmond, California, took on a local “real world” challenge: How can we beautify the public spaces in our neighborhood while celebrating our community history and pride? Professional architects and planners engaged the students in a series of hands-on studio workshops using the Y-PLAN 5-step methodology in the spring. Then over the summer, 100 TOMODACHI Y-PLAN Japanese students also engaged in the Y-PLAN process as they focused on North Richmond. Inspired by the work of the younger local students, they generated a set of long-term and short-term recommendations about how the community might become more vibrant, creative, and connected. Within the framework of their long-term proposals, four groups of 25 students each also generated a plan to build out one small component of their vision during a Day of Action. Read more about the exciting connections made and actions students took in North Richmond!