Project for Public Spaces

PRESS RELEASE

Teens Turn Around Public Spaces

New York, NY (March 12, 2002) - "A nuisance", "undesireable" - the impressions most people have of teens in public places are negative. Yet, if given the chance, teens can contribute to revitalizing public spaces. With encouragement, they can create thriving places of their own.

To highlight these efforts, Project for Public Spaces - America's leading public spaces' nonprofit - has launched a new web feature 'Teens as Community Builders'.

The site profiles individual projects, lists a host of organizations that help teens accomplish their visions, and provides tip sheets on how both adults and youth can work to build positive environments for young people. We are encouraging people of all ages to submit programs, links and other resources for the site.

"This was like power for the teenagers, we got to make a difference," says Maria one of the teen designers of Burton Barr Library Phoenix, Arizona. "It was important because there's not a lot for teens to do in Phoenix outside school, movies or shopping - nothing to really help yourself....It's really amazing that now the library's cool." http://pps.org/tcb/teen_central.htm

To Kathryn - one of two "Youth Planners" in Hampton, VA - her role is essential if city services are to remain relevant. "If they don't have the mindset of what young people want, then they have a problem - they have to change with the changing interests of youth," says Kathryn. "My parents loved bell bottoms and disco, but that's not what we want. If facilities and services don't work to find out what we want, they will be underused and it will be a waste." http://pps.org/tcb/youth_planners.htm

Generously funded by the Laura Jane Musser Fund, 'Teens as Community Builders" highlights the accomplishments of these young people and provides inspiration to other youth who are struggling to make a difference.

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To browse the feature, and add your own contribution to teens as community builders: http://www.pps.org/tcb/index.html. We'd love you feedback and thoughts on this site.

Tell us how we can better promote this site by emailing Shin-pei Tsay: stsay@pps.org

To find out more about Project for Public Spaces go to http://www.pps.org

To join the dicusssion about public spaces, sign up for the PPS listserve: www.topica.com/lists/public.spaces

or send an email to public.spaces-subscribe@topica.com

Project for Public Spaces provides resources, techniques and tools to help people build great public spaces. A nonprofit, PPS has helped over 1,000 neighborhoods in 46 states and 12 countries improve their parks, markets, streets, transit stations, libraries and countless other public spaces. PPS run training & education programs, sell publications and manage two websites: www.pps.org / www.urbanparks.pps.org.