City to redesign public spaces to make it adolescent friendly

Bhubaneswar: The city’s vacant spaces and public areas are set for an “adolescent-friendly” overhaul — a design approach that creates safe, comfortable, and judgment-free zones where teenagers can gather, relax, play, and express themselves without fear of being monitored or restricted.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) India on Wednesday briefed Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) engineers and officers on how to redesign selected locations with features such as small social pockets for 10 friends to sit face-to-face, active and challenging play equipment, and other amenities tailored to adolescents’ needs.

“It was a capacity-building workshop aimed at transforming vacant spaces into adolescent-friendly environments. The engineers were tipped to select places that are safer for turning into amusement zones for the adolescents considering the safety aspect. Altogether, 40 engineers from BMC and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) were co-led by young public space ambassadors aged between 10 and 19. These ambassadors played a crucial role in engaging participants through evidence-based methods to assess and enhance public spaces,” said BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo.

In training the engineers, tools were utilised like the public spaces assessment framework (PSAF) and the YuvaCity Handbook, focusing on practical, data-driven approaches to identify and develop intervention opportunities around schools, colleges, and community hubs.

BMC officials said PSAF, developed by WRI India, incorporates insights from over 1,300 adolescents in Bhubaneswar and Jaipur, ensuring that the perspectives of young people are central to the planning process. “This framework not only supports on-ground evaluations but also empowers city agencies and communities to co-create spaces that are safe, accessible, and engaging for adolescents,” Sahoo added.

He added this initiative is part of Bhubaneswar’s broader efforts to make public spaces more inclusive, particularly for adolescents and those with disabilities. Earlier this year, adolescents in the city showcased model public space interventions at key locations, supported by local organisations Aaina and Humara Bachpan Trust.

Bhubaneswar introduced several child-friendly and disabled-friendly initiatives at parks and public institutions. This latest initiative for adolescents will ensure that this group of people in society also enjoys exclusive facilities, and the enforcement agencies have a special eye on these designated places, officials said. “By equipping engineers with participatory tools and methods, the city is trying to scale up the development of inclusive public spaces,” an officer of BDA said.