Safe, Connected, and Accessible: Young People Shaping the Healthy Streets Approach in Tauranga, Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

The Healthy Streets Approach is being progressively adopted both internationally and across Aotearoa New Zealand. It serves as an urban planning and transport framework prioritising people’s health and wellbeing in the design and management of streets. The Tauranga City Council has adopted the Healthy Streets Approach to help achieve its urban vision and strategy for Tauranga, a rapidly growing city on the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. This study partnered with young people in Tauranga to explore their role in enhancing the implementation of the Healthy Streets Approaches in their city.

Given the emphasis on youth voice in the study, a participatory action research (PAR) methodology was employed. Six young people aged 22 to 27 partnered with the primary author - a young person living in Tauranga - to co-design the study. The young people actively participated as co-researchers in focus group discussions and various participatory methods including mapping, drawing, videoing, and journaling their journeys through Tauranga.

The co-researchers identified four themes: infrastructure and physical environment, alternatives to driving, the importance of the environment, and the contribution of services. Young people in the study value cities that make them feel safe, and connected to their community and the environment, encourage safe alternatives to driving, and provide easy access to services.

The study led to the development of an infographic tool for use by urban decision-makers and agencies. This infographic was co-designed with the young people and aims to communicate their findings from the study. The infographic is intended to serve as a knowledge-translation tool for decision makers providing practical steps when partnering with young people in the design of healthy cities.

The study emphasises the importance of youth engagement in urban design and planning, advocating for the inclusion of young people's perspectives in creating safer, more connected, healthier, and sustainable cities. Future research should investigate how cultural connections to urban spaces impact the health and wellbeing of young people. It should also explore how embedding cultural values and worldviews into city planning can deepen young people's sense of connection to their environments and communities.