Partnerships with schools and young people were particularly significant in demonstrating the greatest impact. Across the four Pioneering Places projects and the wider advocacy programme, partnerships have been built with over thirty schools, eleven universities and two further education colleges.
Supported by Artswork, the Arts Council Bridge Organisation for the South East, each project benefited from delivery partners with significant knowledge and experience of delivering new models of audience engagement with children through an arts and culture-led approach.
The aims of Pioneering Places were to move beyond a top-down education model and to demonstrate how children and young people can have agency in – and be agents for – change and placemaking in their own town or city.
Outcomes of this approach include:
- Developing critical thinking across the curriculum
- Introducing place-based learning as a teaching resource
- Developing civic pride in children and young people
- Development and transformation of school curriculum
- Supporting new skills development and understanding of creative careers
“Good town planning should aim to meet children’s needs as part of an inclusive and integrated society. To do this effectively children should have a say in what these places look like.”
Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) – Children and Town Planning report (July 2021)
