Young Community Planners of Long Beach

Cesar Chavez Park |  Long Beach, CA
January 19, 2024
The Long Beach Community Design Center (LBCDC) facilitated a workshop at Cesar Chavez Park where 10 youths from local high schools engaged in a design-based/hands-on learning experience to understand Zoning/City Planning by using their hands, senses, and objects to create their ideal physical environment in Downtown Long Beach. This approach engaged youth to envision and articulate potential projects for the downtown area. After the hands-on exercise, themes emerged around open and green spaces and social gathering areas. From these themes, the specific priorities/elements that the youth voiced that they would like to see in the Downtown Long Beach Specific Plan were:
  • Gathering Places
  • Green Spaces and Recreation Areas
  • Community Centers
  • Wayfinding (connectivity)
  • Science Center
  • Food Trucks
  • Entertainment
  • More security in DTLB
  • Biking
  • More Library Services
  • Apartments w/garden terraces
  • Outreach to Schools
  • Futuristic ideas (symbolized by a rocket ship)
Through the Young Community Planners of Long Beach program, LBCDC will continue to work with Long Beach youth to facilitate their planning and design voice to influence and inform future city plans and development in the city. "

YOUNG COMMUNITY PLANNERS WORKSHOP VIDEO - 1/19/24