WEATHER PROTECTION

To create truly inclusive spaces for youth, we need to consider how our changing seasons affect where we can and can’t go. Besides providing shade and rain coverings, with trees, pavilions, and gazebos in outdoor spaces, we should also consider having more indoor public spaces for when it rains or during the winter. Most indoor spaces, like restaurants and movie theaters, require teens to spend money, and libraries don’t allow teens to talk and be loud. We could change that by creating more youth centers near existing parks where youth already hang out and create spaces in libraries and/or schools where young people can talk, listen to music, play games, and be themselves without getting shushed.