Urban Minded

How can the design of urban spaces contribute to the

mental well-being of teenage girls?

A Design Guide
Urban Minded
How can the design of urban spaces contribute to the
mental well-being of teenage girls?

A Design Guide
2023

This project is a collaboration between Henning Larsen and the National

Institute for Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark. The
project is funded by Henning Larsen and the Ramboll Foundation.

Project Manager and Contact

Yalda Pilehchian / Senior Strategic Urban Designer
([email protected])

Project Team
Maya Shpiro/ Advisor R&D, Social Sustainability
Trine Relster/ Process Consultant
Dorte Buchardt Westergaard / Associate Design Director
Lea Uguen / Landscape Architect
Frederik Schou-Juul / PhD fellow, Principle Investigator
Marie Eva Berg / Research Assistant

Illustrations
Paweł Floryn ([email protected])

Expert Group
Camilla Van Deurs, Kaya Roessler, Cecilie Nørgaard, Laura Bendix Pedersen,
Carsten Friberg, Marie Astrup, Natasja Lund, Signe Højbjerre Larsen,
Katrine Rich Madsen, Kristine Sejr, Mikkel Hjort

And a huge thanks to our Advisory Group

Mai Grage, Emily Cochran Bech, Bo Vestergård Madsen, Frida Paustian,
Oliver Herlitschek (AVILIUS), Sofie Rasmussen, Sarah Laustsen Larsen,
 A Consequential Point of Departure  6
Reading Guide 7
Process Guide at a Glance 8
Unfolding our Design Drivers 10
Getting Creative Together 12
Disclaimer: Design Alone Won’t Solve It All 14
Abstract Vision, Concrete Actions 16
To Flow in the City 18
To Be in the City 26
To Play in the City 34
Next Steps & Contacts 42

Urban Minded 5
A Consequential Reading Guide
Point of Departure
The design of our cities can have a
significant effect on our well-being
and mental health. This design
guide explores this relationship
by presenting design strategies
to approach this complex subject,
with a focus on the particular
perspectives, preferences, and
needs of teenage girls.

As a pillar of the socially sustainable city, the Resulting in a nuanced grasp of teenage girls This Design Guide is the second of two Whether municipalities exploring urban
well-being of urban residents is incredibly aged 14-16 and their needs within the city, booklets that are the product of Henning development, designers working on
important to generating social impact and the project bridges early user involvement Larsen’s research and design project masterplans, or consultants engaged in
deconstructing social structures that limit and intersectional perspectives to inform ‘Urban Minded’. The two publications can urban strategies - we hope these booklets
certain groups. And while the mental health design strategies that are aimed at inclusive be read separately or together, with the can support anyone wanting to promote
of girls and young women continues to public urban spaces. second building upon the first. The first inclusive spaces.
decrease(1), the link between the design of booklet focuses on the project’s approach,
our urban environments and the promotion Having translated the collected data from research design, and methodology, while the Enjoy reading!
of mental health amongst this group remains our research, the booklet you have in front one you have in your hands presents design
unclear. As a result, the diverse needs of girls of you is the result of a multidisciplinary proposals informed by the study.
and young women are, at best, generalized collaboration between landscape architects, Reading guide:
within the field of urban design – an issue urban designers, and anthropologists at These booklets are intended for anyone
that this project has set out to address. Henning Larsen. interested in reimagining public urban ‘Findings boxes’ presenting some
spaces or anyone who works with urban of our findings from the project.
A collaboration between Henning Larsen design and planning.
and the Danish National Institute of Public Quotes from our expert group that
Health, with the support of the Ramboll support the findings and concepts.
Foundation, ‘Urban Minded’ is a research
project that was carried out in Copenhagen Quotes from girls who participated
over the course of several months in 2022 in the project.
and 2023.

(1)
Agenda Alliance, Women’s Mental Health Facts, https://www.agendaalliance.org/our-work/projects-and-cam-
paigns/womens-mental-health-facts/

Urban Minded 7
Process Guide
at a Glance

Our first booklet covered a lot Stimulation

but here is a quick overview of Sensory input affecting one’s thinking
our process! or feeling processes. Can generate

1
excitement, interest, discomfort, etc.
With the question of ‘how the design of How do we make urban
urban spaces contribute to the mental spaces more attractive Sense of Safety IN BETWEENESS
health and well-being of teenage girls?’ for girls? Condition of feeling secure, feeling that
as our point of departure, and the following one is not in harms way or in danger of
three challenges (listed to the right) guiding physical/emotional hurt, injury, loss, etc.

2
us throughout, we set out to gather the lived
How can we design
experiences of 25 teenage girls in relation Visibility & Recognition
to their urban environments through
urban spaces in ways Seeing and being seen, understanding
interviews, video diaries, and workshops. that contributes to and being understood, recognizing and
teenage girls' mental being recognized.
When processing our data, we drew upon well-being? TO FLOW in the city
a framework that identifies 6 psychological Levels of Privacy

3
needs within one’s spatial experience to Varying states of being apart from
approach the complex matter of mental How do we company or observation of others.
health and well-being. Combining these with avoid falling into
our nuanced collected data, we were able to stereotypes? Social Interaction
identify several key focus areas that were Processes of reciprocal influence of TO BE in the city
then translated into design drivers to guide individuals over one another during
the design process. social encounter.

To dive deeper into this and much more, Sense of Identity

refer to our Process Guide! Perception of the collection of TO PLAY in the city
characteristics that define a person or
place.

Urban Minded 9
Unfolding our
Design Drivers

User engagement provided us with Extracted from the interviews, workshops Inbetween-ness
a lot of inspiring data to process and talks with both the girls and the experts, An experience of straddling childhood and adulthood
and analyze, exemplifying how the three design drivers, along with the simultaneously. This notion envelopes our findings,
diverse lived experiences and principle of inbetween-ness, are all here to acting as an important concept and consistent red
needs actually play out within an guide us in designing elements and spaces thread throughout the project.
urban environment. that orbit around the lived experiences,
preferences and spatial needs of teenage
A key finding in our research and central girls. To FLOW in the city
concept to understanding the experiences Being part of the flow of the city is both central to the
and perspectives of this user group, is a girls’ urban experiences and a basic aspect of using the
notion of ‘inbetween-ness’. Inbetween-ness city. Far beyond simply ‘getting around’, this includes
acts as an overarching principle in our notions of exploration, discovery, observations of
design strategies and proposal. urban life, and more.

Next are three design drivers that highlight

the important realms within the girls’ spatial To BE in the city
experiences in the city: ‘To FLOW’, ‘To BE’, Being in the city refers to the experience of feeling
and ‘To PLAY’. Though presented separately, drawn to urban spaces as spaces in which to spend
these feed into and build upon each other in time. Whether being with your friends or being on your
levels of comfort and self-expression - with own, a positive experience of urban space is one that
FLOW relating to a rather basic aspect of attracts and enables you to be and be comfortable in
using the city; BE reflecting a desire and the city.
means to spend one’s time in urban spaces;
and finally PLAY, tapping into an ability to let
go and be playful in these spaces. To PLAY in the city
This concept was extremely present in the girls’
experiences but the word ‘play’ has childlike
associations and is not the word they would use.
That said, using one’s imagination, inventing stories
or games, being silly, and toying with what it might be
like to be an adult, all these and more culminate in an
expanded notion of play enabled by the city.

Urban Minded 11
Getting Creative,
Together

It would be nice to have a long

By seeking their perspectives shared table next to some existing
directly, we were able to involve sport fields in order to be part of
the girls in our process, allowing the place, but still be able to do
their insights to inform our designs. our own things or hobbies... Like
our homeworks, have lunch all
This was especially true of our workshops together with the class or meet
where together they reflected on how they new people maybe...
use the urban spaces available to them, and
got creative thinking about what better
urban spaces could look and feel like in
future. Their inputs and feedback really
helped us in shaping concrete design ideas!

Remember our Impact Driven Design process?

(If not, see pages 24-25 in our Process Guide.)
Below we have marked where the design
workshops took place in our process.

Define the Define the Define Ways Monitor and

Design for
Challenge Desired User to Create Evaluate
Impact
Experience Impact Impact

Feedback
Urban Minded 13
Disclaimer:
Design Alone Won’t But more things need to be
free, or at least it helps if

Solve It All things are free. We don’t have

very much money so we’re
always looking for free things
to do.
We don’t expect to solve the issue of mental Finally, money can play a big role as well.
health amongst teenage girls in this project, For various reasons, many urban spaces are
or think that we can design a solution to the centered around commercial practices and
many challenges that young people face. form an additional barrier for those with a
We do, however, wish to design spaces that limited budget, such as teens. Additionally,
indicate to them that they are invited and design solutions for the public realm are
welcomed into public space and that the city often cut down to meet a project’s limited
is theirs to experience. budget, making it difficult to rethink
conventional ways of doing things.
In order to create spaces that are attractive
for teenage girls, the design needs to go far
beyond the aesthetics of the space.
Sometimes it just feels
For starters, we need to consider the like things are for younger
barriers, whether physical or symbolic, that
kids, like there’s an age
exist for using and accessing urban public
restriction or something.
spaces. It could be as simple as elements that
feel too big or don’t work for all body sizes
and as complicated as narratives around
who should be active and who should be
passive in urban spaces. For some, barriers Barriers
are all around.

Secondly, organization is another factor

that should be taken into account. Creating
intentional connections between urban
spaces and the everyday lives and activities
of teenage girls could be a way to encourage
their usage of them. Facilitating the use of SPACES

spaces through invitations to organized

Organizations
activities is another way of achieving this.

Economy

Urban Minded 15
Abstract Vision -
Concrete Actions

Homes, schools, stations,squares, Cities are sites that combine the old and
boulevards, parks, plazas... these the new, the traditional and the fresh. That
are all elements that can be found is why these design solutions can all be
in most of the urban contexts integrated in existing urban landscapes,
around us. Using a representation between buildings, and in leftover
of an abstract city as the backdrop, spaces, but they can also be part of new
the following pages will dive into developments or transformed spaces. THE CITY IS
our design drivers in greater detail. NOW
Combined they showcase a vision
of a city - a city designed and
While the presented design solutions focus
on the perspectives of teenage girls, they
OUR PLAYGROUND !
informed by the perspectives and embody truly exciting potentials within LETS GET TO WORK...
preferences of teenage girls! inclusive design, with benefits that extend
far beyond this user group.
Exploring each of the design drivers - ‘To
FLOW’, ‘To BE’, and ‘To PLAY’ - separately, That said, these design solutions aim to
each section will start by unfolding the inspire and bring light to some important
significance of each driver as well as its principles and ideas, but should not be seen
relation to mental health (through the as generic solutions to apply in any setting.
psychological needs corresponding to it). They are informed by the involvement of
To follow, we show the diverse ways in teenage girls in a particular context that
which each concept could present itself as a is tied to its geography, culture, climate,
strategy in the broad context of this abstract etc., and so, they evidence the potential of
city (using the words and perspectives of the unfolding similar projects elsewhere.
girls we engaged with).

Lastly, we present some closer views of

this urban landscape to show how design
solutions relating to each design driver can
emplace themselves in this vision. Zooming
in will help us explore the integration and To FLOW!
impact of these solutions on the urban To BE!
context alongside the connections they offer. To PLAY!

Urban Minded 17
 How does this relate to
their psychological needs?

TO FLOW Whether alone or with their friends,

teenage girls are explorers of the
Design solutions informed by the spatial
experience of FLOW have to keep in mind
Safety
Feeling unsafe is a big deal.

in the city city. Finding a new and exciting

place to meet or revisiting familiar
favorites, they gather experiences
the concepts of fluidity and ease, while at
the same time, offering identifiable urban
Offering safe ways to move
around will improve the

as a teenager
surprises that can help with orientation, girls’ (and their guardians’)
of discovery and adventure, stimulation, and a growing feeling of perceptions of safety and
embarking on some of their first ownership as the city becomes increasingly boost their sense of freedom to
independent urban journeys. familiar. explore.

As their relationship with the city continues Stimulation

to evolve, the spatial experience of ‘FLOW’ Urban journeys are filled
relates to their sense of freedom but also with stimulating sensory
their sense of comfort at the urban scale. experiences. Colors, sounds,
Can I move easily, freely, safely in this space? scents, they all line the urban
Is it accessible? These are such important experience.
considerations from the perspective of a
teenage girl. Sense of Identity
Flowing through familiarity
Sometimes flow is all about proximity, about and discovery is an experience
getting from one place to the next quickly of being part of the city and
and easily. Where is the park nearest to the promotes a sense of ownership.
school? Where is the closest kiosk?
But besides this, for some, to FLOW in the
city can be an attraction in itself, a thrill even.
When you’re a kid you’re just
Just walking at the city’s pace amongst a
following your parents but when
crowd of strangers can be an exciting urban
experience to actively seek and look forward you grow up you get to see and
to. know the city more and explore
it for yourself. You can always
find hidden things or secret
places.

Urban Minded 19
 TO FLOW IN THE CITY I don’t really stop and sit
too much. There’s just so
That big tower over there
helps me find my way when I
TEENAGE GIRLS’ SENSITIVE MAPS
much movement in the don’t want to use my phone.
street and I like being I like feeling that I know my
It’s so nice when a bridge part of it instead of just way around the ctiy.
I like the anonymity of or a bike lane gives you watching it...
the city. I like that most enough space to also
people don’t know me. have some fun on the
I could be anyone. I could way.
even be much older.
I love running in this park.
Some paths feel a bit hidden
and I like that because it can
We just pass by here on feel like an adventure, like a
the way, we have some secret run in nature, almost
quick fun here and then like being in a forest.
we keep moving on. It’s
just a nice place to stop
through on our way to
meeting our friends!

I often choose the way that is I like that in the city you
the most lit, not necessarily can get small glimpses into
because something will people's lives. I'll do this
happen, it is just something thing where I look at people
I’m used to doing... and then I imagine stories
about their lives.

Obviously, there’s lots of

others around but it is our
city!

During summer it’s so nice

You can just explore things, to just bike around, stop
Something about all the people you’ll always find something and jump in the water, and
and it being busy really calms new and some nice small then keep going
me down. Almost like a sense of streets. It’s nice because it
relief when I get here... means that you’re not seeing
the same boring things all
the time! * Quotes taken from the different talks
with the girls over 2022-23.

Urban Minded 21
 Offer flexible space that
is easily connected to
the main flow axis for Diversity of activities &
temporary events like flea open ground floors invite Colorful paths and
markets, food markets, social interactions and bikelanes highlight easy
and more. offer lively stimulation and fun ways to move in
along the way. the city, away from car
Space in Artistic wayfinding
Active & Lively traffic.
Transition Notable Paths elements along the main
Streets axis highlight gathering
& Bike Lanes points and evoke curiosity.
PLACES Invitation for

TO FLOW
Discoveries

1 Engaging journeys

While moving in the cities,

different interventions and
elements can increase the feelings
of both safety and discovery.
These can encourage and
empower the girls as they explore
their surroundings and familiarize
themselves with their city.

Bridges as
Experiences
Shapes, materiality and Playful & Obvious Active & Illuminated
heights can turn bridges Crossings Transport Stations
into playful elements and Clear & Wide Colors or materiality create Metro and bus stations act
allow you to see the city Bike Lanes easily identifiable crossings as active gathering and
from a different angle Extra-wide bike lanes make between the main axis and orienting points in the city
while on your way. the journey safer and also lanes, increasing the feeling landscape.
give friends the opportunity of safety and strengthen the
to talk or cycle side-by-side. identity of the place.

Urban Minded 23
 Lighting elements
as urban landmarks
Safe & clear paths through strengthen a place’s
parks and natural spaces identity & create Stepping stones or
offer a sense of escape as safe and enjoyable paths to play with
Art installations
well as calming sensory atmospheres. your balance offer
along the way can
stimulation. Creative some quick and low
act as orientation
Alternative & Lighting stakes fun along your
points and engaging
way.
Sensory Paths elements in the city.
Gravity Paths Orienting &
Engaging Art
PLACES
TO FLOW
2 Surprises
along the way
Surprises, or physical elements
that might seem out of the
ordinary can enrich personal
experiences and relationships
with our urban surroundings.
Whether colorful walls, fun roads
and paths, creative lighting,
or unexpected and exciting
materials - surprises offer intrigue
and showcase the liveliness of a
dynamic city.

Light & Sound Accessible

Tunnel Rooftops Find your Stars
Underground spaces are Identifiable landmarks are part of the city skyline and
Public rooftops expand
opportunities to have a can act as an ‘urban North Star’ during urban-explorer
public spaces, creating
creative & playful moment; adventures. Old or new, clocktowers or water tanks,
elevated ways to move in
through colors, music & anything can become a personal landmark, and without
the city.
materiality. being designed for this purpose.

Urban Minded 25
 How does this relate to
their psychological needs?

TO BE To BE in the city is about being

drawn to urban public spaces and
Safety
Designing with feelings

in the city as feeling comfortable to spend time

in them. Whether a favorite park or
a bench by the water, this means
of safety in mind is about
providing the right balance

a teenager
between connected and
providing spaces to meet the isolated spaces.
changing needs of the girls.
BEing alone, BEing together, BEing Levels of Privacy
able to escape, BEing discreet, Privacy can be about being
BEing visible, BEing active, BEing away from the gaze of parents
lazy... There needs to be room and teachers. Varying scales
for us in the city! allow you to decide how visible
Design solutions informed by the spatial That’s really important to be and with how many
experience of BEing, aim to rethink and that we can always find people.
diversify the free and open spaces that a at least one space that’s
city has to offer. By making them more Identity
right for us.
welcoming and better suited to teenage Providing the experience of
girls, urban spaces can encourage a sense of finding “your” place in the city,
ownership fostering the notion that the city a place to relate to and identify
is in fact theirs. with.

Introverted as well extroverted spaces, Social Interactions

interactions
public restrooms, affordable food and drink, Spaces for varying types of
flexible spaces, modular urban furniture, gatherings offer the right
varying levels of visibility, all these and more setting at different times.
can support in accommodating the user
group and promote a sense of ownership
over their urban surroundings.

Urban Minded 27
 TO BE IN THE CITY We just need some grass,
a good bench under some
Sometimes you’re really
stressed out and you want
to scream but you can’t just
TEENAGE GIRLS’ SENSITIVE MAPS trees, and we are good to go. scream randomly so we come
For me, it’s nice to be in a place I could spend hours like that here and go on the rides so
that you can feel part of, and at with my best friend. we can scream as much as we
the same time you can isolate a
want.
We like to gather where we can have as bit with your best friend and have
many people as we want and where we your own space too .
can also organise the space as we want...
it’s good because everything about the
situation can change all the time.
I like this hidden corner
in the library where I can
move the furniture around
and just read.
I’m usually really busy so
sometimes I just want to be
on my own. If the weather’s
good, I’ll get an iced-coffee
and bring my headphones
and find a bench in my
favorite park. Sometimes, I just need to be
in nature or by the water. It
helps clear my mind, if I am
stressed or tense...

THINGS NEED
TO BE FREE !

It’s just nice

to hang out around the
My friends and I like going to water... And it’s even better if
places that look like they have we can be a bit higher than
a past. And it’s nice to feel Public bathrooms are so the rest, then we can get a
like we can make them our Hidden spots with cosy important! It’s seriously so good view.
own as well. and flexible seating are frustrating when you end up
really nice places to having to go to a mall just to
meet others. find one...
* Quotes taken from the different talks
with the girls over 2022-23.

Urban Minded 29
 Small outdoor
‘decompression’ spaces
give room for moments
between destinations,
whether after school or Whether under a tree, or
Offer more than one
before an activity. Free & flexible spaces near next to a river, the value
way to seat together
Inbetween common gathering points or alone, by giving
of spaces connecting with
for teens, like a cheap kiosk natural elements cannot be
Moments or shop.
different shapes,
undermined.
viewpoints and
Free & atmospheres. Among the
Flexible Differing Elements
Views

PLACES
TO BE
1 Finding
the right places
Finding the right place at the
right time is a tough task, at any
age. Diversity, flexibility, and
accessibility of places are key to
encourage and attract teenage
girls to public urban spaces, while
never losing sight of sense of
safety and comfort!

More
Public Toilets
Access to free & clean
public toilets is essential
to accommodating the
needs of teenage girls
and encouraging them to
spend time in public urban Hydration Points Common Watch Me
spaces.
Teenagers, active or not, Tables Closer
depend on free facilities to Tables allow for (Re)use of
Seating areas integrated into
be able to enjoy outdoor spontaneous
existing sport areas, like
Leftover Spaces
spaces throughout the day. interactions, Utilizing spaces in the
skateparks and basketball
picnics or even existing and sometimes
courts, connect between players
outdoor study dense urban context, can
& observers by mixing the roles.
sessions. provide the varying levels
of privacy that teens seek.

Urban Minded 31
 An elevated point in a
plaza or a park offers More seating places along
space to isolate in without the main active streets or
disconnecting from the boulevards allow teens
Integrate simple and city’s rhythm. the sense of being part of
city life just by observing
natural based material into Urban others.
spaces to hang out in the Lighthouse
park, the more grass and People Watching
wooden surface, the better.
Invitation to
Nature

PLACES
TO BE
2 Intrigue
through shapes
& materiality
Varying shapes, materiality,
Find Your Bubble
dimensions, and atmospheres
Seating bubbles or pods
create a sense of intrigue in for one or two people,
public spaces and offer a range where the shape provides
of experiences. A swing that fits a sense of protection and
creates intimate spaces in
you and your friends together, the the city.
ability to lie down or to play with
gravity, a circular form to invite
social gatherings... integrated next Make Your
to existing facilities or spread out Own Space
as small interventions along your Flexible furniture can be
adjusted according to the
way, these provide diverse ways number of people and the
of being and enjoying urban space, need for shade or sun.
while also making it your own.
Sensory &
Aromatic
Experiences
Sharing table Smells can stimulate
Invitation to feelings of comfort in an
An oversized table
Dream Reinterpreting outdoor space, especially
invites people to
extend the habits of Lighting & art installations
the Swing when natural elements
provide spaces that With materials & heights are incorporated.
home into the city.
allow you to dream and that make you play with
stimulate your creativity gravity, simply sitting
or emotions. becomes an engaging
activity.

Urban Minded 33
 How does this relate to
their psychological needs?

TO PLAY Are we ever really done with play?

PLAY in the city is about feeling
Visibility
Giving more visibility to the

in the city as comfortable enough to let go, to be

active or silly, to have fun without
fear of judgment or societal
diverse hobbies and activities
that young girls enjoy doing

a teenager
means inviting them into
expectation. spaces through representation.
I love it when I get a chance
Between playgrounds for young children, Stimulation
to be silly and joke around. It makes
outdoor exercise equipment for adults, and To feel welcome in an active
traditional sports facilities predominantly me feel like a child again! urban space, it’s important to
used by boys, where can teenage girls shake I think a lot of people really miss offer stimuli that differs from
their urban encounters with age and gender that feeling... and not just people the ‘spatial codes’ (physical
barriers to really be active and play in public my age, also adults. or social) that can keep
space? We don’t have to be responsible individuals away.
and mature all the time.
At an age when playing might seem childish Identity
and your self-consciousness can keep Introducing diverse ways
you somewhat restrained, designing for to be active and diverse
the spatial experience of PLAY is about representations of interests
integrating elements throughout the city that or hobbies in public spaces
encourage playful attitudes and activities can signal to users that their
for all! identity is welcomed and
supported by the city.
Design solutions informed by this driver
must acknowledge the barriers that keep Social Interactions
individuals from being active in public Mixing ways to be active
spaces. They aim to expand the notion outside can encourage
of PLAY by going beyond conventions to interactions, between teenage
encourage curiosity, creativity, imagination girls, but also with other
and playfulness at any age. generations and user groups.

Urban Minded 35
 I like sitting on these swings and
seeing the skaters over there
TO PLAY IN THE CITY doing all their tricks. It’s so cool.
They’re so good at it and I like
TEENAGE GIRLS’ SENSITIVE MAPS that they also look out for each
other. Like helping each other up
after a fall.
It would be nice to have
a place that feels like a stage, but It would be so cool to have like a
that is also not officially one... Then tunnel or something, or just a wall
we could do theater, or dance, or play where you could paint whatever you
music. Maybe I would read out my want. I would love that.
Sometimes it just feels like things poetry... could be nice, just a space Like a place where you can be
are for younger kids, like there’s an to express ourselves. creative every day and it changes
age restriction. Like if I were to go every day !
on those swings, there would be no
one around my age. It’s like I’m too
old for that. I like to feel that the place has
been used by many people before
me, that it has a past.... It makes
me more relaxed about making
something there, like we won’t
make it look more or less worn by
using it.
There doesn’t have to be an
activity for us to start doing
something. We can come up
with a game ourselves...

Graffiti and street art

are great in a city, it’s amazing
to see how people express
I also like going to museums themselves this way.
and galleries, just to see what’s
there. And look at beautiful
things. And there you can
also use your imagination and
create your own stories... I love seeing the boats and
kayaks and stuff like that.
It could be cool to have There’s just so much to do by
Sometimes we invent out own more stuff in the city for doing the water. Like the water is
games, other times we skate or our hobbies or ‘our kind of an actual activity and not just
longboard. But sometimes we fun’, other than just football or something to look at.
basketball..
do crafts, or play music, or just
get creative... * Quotes taken from the different talks
with the girls over 2022-23.

Urban Minded 37
 Create fields mixing Spread out playful
sports and non-sport elements in the city, along
activities, to encourage the main pedestrian or Playing with the
people to take part, bike paths. The city topography of a plaza
without the pressure of Spread & place any
is a playground! allows spontaneous &
being any good at it. playful elements along
Pieces of unamed activities to take
the main flow axes of
Just Fun, Playground place. A stone hill becomes
teenagers, mapping their
No Pressure a temporary stage, or
main gathering points &
perhaps a skating ramp...
favorite paths.
Active &
Connecting Open up skateparks &
Open Plaza
PLACES Flow & Play facilities to invite others to
take part, whether skating,

TO PLAY
observing, or using the
space in other ways.

Open-Up
What is There
1 Infinite ways
to be active
Once the notion of play is
expanded and urban spaces are
arranged to support this, the city
in its entirety becomes a site for
playful experiences!
By creating unconventional
opportunities or invitations to
use spaces freely, and by having
diverse activities and hobbies
visibly represented, we can spread
PLAY beyond the playground,
extending it far beyond early
childhood.

Active Geology
Invite to a climbing
Play with Water experience through small
Playful water features bouldering walls and
for warm days. Water adapted floors.
Expression walls Curiosity invites everyone closer.
Add small activities on Cabinet
Provide free or cheap
existing walls with simple
rental equipment.
signs, graffiti, wall-tennis,
Ping-pong paddles, dance
dance... be active with your
equipment, balls, frisbee,
body and imagination.
and more...

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 Open & free spaces Sometimes to allow
Provide flexible
allow users to be as yourself to play, be active,
urban elements along
Integrate simple & loud as they want, creative, & fully express
waterfronts or rivers,
natural materials to create whether playing with a yourself, you need to be
whether fishing spots, Adjusted heights &
spaces to hang out in the band, singing with your hidden from the eyes of
viewpoints, jumping & shapes allow teens to
park. The more grass and friends, or screaming to others...
swimming areas.. use playful elements
wooden surface, the
Playful simply by being better
release frustration. Hide & Play
better! suited to their bodies. Soundbox
Invitation to Interface
With Water Scale-Up
nature

PLACES
TO PLAY
2 Creative shapes

Creating inclusive invitations for

play means deconstructing the
typical coding of activities that
can often be found in our cities.
Simply integrating new and
somewhat unexpected shapes,
heights, colors, and materials into
public spaces can stimulate the
imagination, inviting everyone in
the city to reinvent and reinterpret
play for themselves.

Active
Artful Watching
Create opportunites for
Active Lines Playground different activities by
Simply marking the floor Let art in public space
Take Hobbies with lines, colorful or not, act as an unamed
simply offering another
point of view of the city
Outdoors can spark the imagination and unexpected you live in.
Update existing or new for more activities and playground, whether
playground installations games to happen. for teenage girls,
by adding other hobbies adults or anyone!
that are often missing, like
painting, dancing, boxing,
and more.

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Next Steps

Having read through this design manual So, what are the next steps?
(whether you’re a designer, municipality, If you’re feeling inspired by this project, do
consultant, foundation, social organization, get in touch to share your ideas, continue the
developer, or anything else), we imagine discussion, and find ways to work together
that, like us, you are interested in improving to make these ambitions an urban reality,
urban spaces for girls and young women, step by step!
and making our cities more inclusive for all!
AND secondly, let us continue to seek
A first step in opening up the imagination opportunities to design our cities with care
for design solutions informed by the and consideration for the lived experiences
needs, preferences and lived experiences of diverse user groups.
of teenage girls, this guide has shown how
these could be implemented in an abstract We’re looking forward to crafting a more
urban setting. These concepts and design inclusive urban future, we hope you are too!
ideas are not meant to be adopted as generic
solution for any context, instead they
demand to be adapted through a return to
user engagement, and to be tailored to both
the spatial and cultural contexts, resources,
and stakeholders involved.

Yalda Pilehchian
Senior Strategic Urban Designer
([email protected])

Dorte Buchardt Westergaard

Associate Design Director
([email protected])

Urban Minded 43