How can young people create liveable cities?: Te Whanganui-a-Tara - May 2021

Our May event in Wellington focused on how young people can create liveable cities. Cities are at the heart of our housing and climate crises, but our local decision-makers continue to hear more from members of the community with a vested interest in the status quo than our young people, who will live with the impact for decades.

Our event aimed to make engaging with local councils easy and fun. First, we heard from economic commentator Brad Olsen about what liveable, sustainable cities look like, and what policy is needed to get us there. Next, we heard from Councillor Jill Day about how decisions about cities get made, and how young people can have their voices heard. Finally, Generation Zero convenor Marko Garlick ran a workshop to help our audience draft a Social Change Collective group submission to the Council’s Long Term Plan, which determines what the Council will spend money on over the next 10 years.

Our key actions from the event were:

• Submit individually on the Council’s Long Term Plan, in addition to contributing to the group submission on the day.

• Stay connected on upcoming chances to engage in local, regional and central government policy by following Generation Zero on social media.