New York City’s young people need their own space

“By involving students in research and advocacy in the process of creating and implementing programs, and in maintaining the streets themselves, the school uses Open School Streets to help students understand what their communities are and should be like.” can be turned into a canvas for rethinking.”

COVID-19 has brought incredible suffering to New York City. But as New Yorkers always do, we found ways to connect and lift each other up through tragedy.

The Open Streets program was perhaps the most visible example of that connection and community uplift. Just weeks after the pandemic began, the city announced a bold pledge. The idea is to turn 160 miles of New York City streets into free public pedestrian spaces where New Yorkers can congregate in every borough.

Open Streets quickly grew into a hub of culture, nutrition, recreation, learning, connection, and local commerce, sustaining community and providing a sliver of joy in a backdrop of hardship and uncertainty.

During Earth Month, we should think about programs like Open Streets that strengthen the connection between New York City communities and the natural world. This includes adding value while also thinking hard about how we can improve. For example, Open Streets, like many programs, was very powerful, but it was implemented in a very unequal way, and that inequality continues at the rest of the sites.

Nearly half of New York City’s 1,859 schools have applied to host Open Streets, but there are currently only an estimated 65 to 70 school-sponsored Open Streets. Even though communities of color have been worst affected by COVID-19, many school-based Open Streets have the resources to sustain themselves and other public and private They are located in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods that are more likely to have green space. .

This spring marks the fourth season of Open Streets, but it’s not too late to address this disparity. Today, by expanding Open School Streets and prioritizing schools in communities of color, New York City can take a bold step toward building a healthier and more just city.

Open Streets is beneficial for all communities, but especially for students. Open school streets make it safer for students and families to get to and from school without having to worry about traffic. Schools can create learning labs during and after class for STEM and the arts, provide spaces for student groups that affirm community and belonging, support social and emotional health, and create social and can be used to expand narrow building footprints in a variety of ways, including supporting emotional health and improving teaching. Improve student health and local air quality through green infrastructure, create programs for students to gain work experience and explore post-secondary pathways, expand athletic space, and more. will be fulfilled.

Open School Streets can be a vehicle for developing students as leaders who will shape their future. By involving students in research and advocacy in the process of creating and implementing programs and maintaining the streets themselves, schools use Open School Streets to help students understand what their communities are and should be like. can be turned into a canvas for rethinking.

At Futures Ignite, students are creating a clean air green corridor. Futures Ignite provides school-based counseling, leadership development, and community building to help students develop and achieve their vision for life after high school. Students at the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) developed a vision for the Corridor as an important strategy to improve environmental conditions and expand access to the community’s public spaces.

Established pre-COVID-19, this corridor began to blossom with the establishment of Open School Street. Today, thousands of students and community members participate in corridor activities each year. Students conduct environmental research, learn real-world science in a hands-on way, and educate and organize their peers and neighbors through art, workshops, and a variety of creative activities.

Washington Heights is plagued by pollution. Historically, they have been marginalized due to lack of investment. Open School Streets furthers our vision of a Clean Air Green Corridor and will one day span several more blocks, connecting five schools and thousands more students, families, neighbors, and businesses. . Through the Corridor, our young people and communities are at the forefront of building more sustainable and climate-resilient cities and nations.

Our vision applies not only to the Washington Heights Clean Air Green Corridor, but to our city as well. Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Council should prioritize Open School Streets in three important ways. First, cities need to catch up with this trend by requiring roads and green spaces around schools to be closed to vehicle traffic. This change will have an immediate net positive impact on safety, health, environmental improvement, and community well-being.

Second, New York City must invest in an open school street. A multi-agency office of Open School Streets would allow every school to have an Open School Street. Importantly, offices are more likely to be located in schools with little or no access to green space or play areas, overcrowded school buildings, schools that are close to highways and have high rates of asthma and traffic injuries, and which can become heat deserts. Priority can be given to schools that lack expensive and adequate air conditioning systems.

Third, we invest in our students, schools, and communities through Open School Streets. Utilize Summer Youth Employment Program funding to support summer jobs led by Open Streets programs supported by community-based organizations. Ensure all schools and communities have access to funding to run Open School Streets. Through environmental research and youth-friendly citizen science, every open school street offers an opportunity to become a science learning lab.

By investing in Open School Streets and providing resources to schools and community-based organizational partners, New York City can make a transformative contribution to youth and families through permanent ribbons on our streetscapes and infrastructure. Creating more resilient cities, where all young people have access to green space, environmental learning, and a space they can call their own.