Major Initiatives

We work with and for young people to make city planning more democratic, equity-driven, and youth-focused.

Despite being directly impacted by local policies, young people often have no say in city planning decisions. CC+S is committed to elevating young people as agents of change to improve both local governance and educational outcomes. We pursue this goal through various youth engagement and research initiatives.

Y-PLAN (Youth – Plan, Learn, Act Now)

Y-PLAN is our award-winning civic youth engagement strategy, which enables young people and civic leaders to collaborate on real-world, city planning projects.

Equitable School Facilities

We identify policies and investment priorities to improve public school facilities so that all students learn in healthy, opportunity-rich environments that are climate resilient.

HEAR US

The HEAR US initiative (Homeless Education Action Research – Uniting Systems) mobilizes young leaders to improve learning systems for youth facing homelessness and housing instability.

Emerging Areas of Work

CC+S is expanding its research scope to include education workforce housing and healthy school food.

Featured Publications

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Planning Cities With Young People and Schools: Forging Justice, Generating Joy

Drawing upon twenty years of civic youth engagement with students from around the globe, Planning Cities With Young People and Schools offers a set of best-practices with which urban planners can challenge the status quo, reimagining the future of our cities for and with young people.

Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus

In this report, we assess the possibility and opportunity for school districts to build affordable housing on properties they already own and make it available for their employees.

Cultivating Inclusion: Belonging and Agency in Young Black Men through Civic Action Research

This article examines how community-based civic action research can cultivate civic engagement, civic belonging, and shifts in civic stakeholders’ perceptions of racially and economically minoritized youth’s civic agency.