At the centre of the vision for the Hartree site is a commitment to building a community in which children and young people can thrive. As the masterplan evolves, we have wanted to hear from young people in the city, to see what they think we should do to create a child-friendly development.
To do that, the Hartree project team commissioned Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination to run creative consultation workshops. with young residents from the city, to explore the question of what makes a place.
The sessions were run by artists Hilary Cox Condron and Sally Todd at the Guildhall and 24 young people, aged between 11-25 and from diverse backgrounds used a range of art materials and natural items to express their ideas on the following five themes: Streets, Mobility, Public Space, Home, Space for Nature.
The conversation at the workshops covered lots of including the need for safe public spaces for young people aided by proper street lighting, and how ‘social streets’ can be created for people to stop and chat to each other. There was plenty more explored, and a comprehensive report has been published by CC&I and is published here.
Last year, CC&I also ran a series of workshops on a similar theme with young people from local schools in North Cambridge, and they also hosted a creative, colourful, and interactive feedback space at the People City Planet Festival. The work they did last year has been brilliant captured in a report and a video that can be viewed here.
As part of the masterplanning process for Hartree, a Children and Young People’s Strategy is being developed, and in line with our Shaped by Many project value, we have sought to involve young residents in the process of developing it, from the outset.
We would like to say thank you to the 24 young residents who got involved, as well as Hilary, Sally, and the entire CC&I team.
Imagery provided by CC&I
28th November 2023