Placemaking with Young Adults Featured in PWE Reggio Emilia Offcial Report

We’re excited to share that our project, Placemaking with Young Adults, has been featured in the Official Report of Placemaking Week Europe, held in beautiful Reggio Emilia, Italy. This isn’t just a badge of honour for us—it’s a chance to recognise the collective passion and hard work of everyone involved in our journey to make urban spaces more inclusive and vibrant.

Key Highlights from the Report

PWE2025 Conference: Placemaking Week Europe was a whirlwind experience, bringing together 622 placemakers, city officials, urban planners, architects, community heroes and more, from over 52 countries. It was incredible to witness so many ideas and stories converging, each contributing to a richer understanding of how we can shape better cities together.

PYA2.0 Project: Within this vibrant mix, our initiative stood out for its focus on young adults and inclusive urban planning policy development. We believe that every voice counts, especially those of young people who often feel excluded from urban planning conversations. Seeing their visions take shape not only energises local planning efforts but also injects freshness into conventional approaches.

Throughout these lively sessions, we shared insights from our ongoing work while soaking in the diverse experiences shared by fellow participants. It was a rich tapestry of dialogue, highlighting both the challenges we face and the creative ways people are solving them.

Reflecting on the Experience and Next Steps

Personally, attending the event was like hitting a creative refresh button. The conversations sparked new ideas and reminded me why young adults and youth engagement is so crucial—it’s all about creating spaces where people genuinely feel they belong. We returned with a suitcase full of inspiration and a clearer vision of how to expand our efforts here at home.

Looking ahead, we’re eager to transform the excitement and insights from the event into action. Our next steps include more community workshops and collaborative events related to placemaking and the Local Plan Review coming up. We’re all about keeping the momentum going and broadening the circle of voices contributing to placemaking.