As part of the Fondation Botnar-led 'Healthy Cities for Adolescents' program, the Safe, Vibrant and Healthy Public Spaces project fosters mechanisms to assess, design and improve public spaces for adolescents in the cities of Jaipur and Bhubaneswar.

Enabling adolescents to be a part of the city development processes, we work towards co-creating adolescent-friendly public spaces by applying the Public Spaces Assessment Framework (PSAF), developed by WRI India with input from over 800 adolescents.

We engage adolescents with city-level decision-makers, spotlighting Jaipur and Bhubaneswar as models for adolescent-centred public spaces to inform national discourse.

The project in India is led by WRI India along with Humara Bachpan Trust and Aaina in Bhubaneswar and I-India and Magic Bus in Jaipur and a learning partner, Auom Impact & Consulting by Insomanywords. The project is funded by Fondation Botnar and managed by Ecorys.

How We Reimagine Public Spaces

We follow a three-stage strategy to shape adolescent-friendly public spaces. First, we collaborate with on-ground partners, local communities and a cohort of adolescents to identify a suitable public site. Using PSAF tools, we collect data on how the space meets adolescent needs across 25+ parameters.

Next, we use the assessment results to design targeted interventions, incorporating inputs from the adolescent cohort. Lastly, we test out these interventions through low-cost, temporary features, based on tactical urbanism. Our co-creation process involves networking and stakeholder engagement, outreach and capacity building, governance and leadership development, as well as on-ground activities

The Public Spaces Assessment Framework