After several information events and spotlight talks at various schools in Salzburg, the kick-off workshop with pupils on the topic of “The Future of Designing Green Spaces in Urban Areas” took place in mid-January 2023. As part of the research project “u3green”, young adults are tasked with finding out how child and youth-friendly green spaces in the city of Salzburg are now and should be in the future.

What do young people expect from urban green spaces? Are these ideas the same as for adults? Young people are being invited to join the u3green research team of the Department of Geoinformatics at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg in order to answer these and other questions.

This exciting topic will be discussed and researched together with researchers in various formats such as spotlight talks, workshops and internships. The results will be incorporated into the development of an app that can be used by young people all over the country to submit their wishes and suggestions. The results, presented as interactive online plans and story maps, will be passed on to the political representatives of the city of Salzburg so that future planning processes can take the perspective of the next generation into account.

Kick-off workshop at the Akademisches Gymnasium

At the kick-off workshop on 19 January 2023, 12 pupils from the Akademisches Gymnasium had the opportunity to take a closer look at the design of green spaces in urban areas.

In an interactive, three-stage process, the participants worked out…

1) … what each of them understood by the term “urban green”,

2) … what kinds of elements the identified areas contain (e.g. playgrounds, pump tracks, sports fields, quiet areas, walking trails, etc.) and

3) … what characteristics they think these elements should have.

The fascinating insights gained from this creative morning were then presented and discussed in the plenary session. The results, which will ultimately serve as the basis for the app development, will be coordinated, refined and further developed in additional workshops and practical sessions.

The next practical session will take place in April 2023. During their four-day stay at Hintersee in Berchtesgadener Land, eight young people will work together with researchers on the development of the app. During their stay, they will be inspired and trained in their perception of green spaces through joint activities and excursions to Klausbachtal and other attractions of Berchtesgaden National Park.

We are already very excited about the upcoming results.

What is Sparkling Science?

The “Sparkling Science 2.0” programme of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research supports citizen science projects. These projects actively involve both researchers and citizens, in this case primarily children and young people, in the research process. This integration of different community groups strengthens the dialogue between research and society, recognises and integrates everyday knowledge into the research process, and ultimately opens up the structures between the fields.

Contact Project lead: Dr. Sabine Hennig | Paris Lodron University of Salzburg | Department of Geoinformatics | Schillerstraße 30/III | 5020 Salzburg | | +43 662 8044 7590

Project website: www.plus.ac.at/geoinformatik/research/edu-projects/u3green/?lang=en