July 31, 2024 • 28 mins
Corrin Wendell is the Founder and Executive Director of YEP! (Youth Engagement Planning). YEP! is a non-profit organization focused on educating young people in grades K-12 about urban planning and civic engagement. They create opportunities for youth to meaningfully advocate for change in their own communities and built environments. Corrin discusses the importance of involving young voices in community decisions and creative ways for planners to include youth perspectives in urban planning projects.
Links and Contact Information
https://youthengagementplanning.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/corrinwendell
Ava Tanner the City Planner:
https://www.amazon.com/Tanner-City-Planner-Corrin-Wendell/dp/B0D19VXB9F
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kelly Hickler (00:12):
Welcome to episode three of engaging
cities, fireside chats on eachepisode of the show.
I talked to leaders who arepaving the way in civic
engagement in order to inspirelisteners and share strategies
that you can implement in yourown community.
This podcast is proudlysupported by our sponsor,
(00:33):
Conveo, the engagement platformfor plans and policies.
Check them out at K O N V E I Odot com.
I'm your host, Kelly Hickler,the community manager with
Engaging Cities, as well as thefounder of Cinovation Studio,
which is dedicated to innovativecivic education and engagement.
(00:57):
On today's episode, I'm talkingwith the fabulous Corinne
Wendell, the founder andexecutive director of YEP, Youth
Engagement Planning.
YEP is a nonprofit org that'sfocused on educating young
people in grades K through 12and beyond about urban planning
(01:18):
and civic engagement.
Corinne is so cool and I want tobe.
Just like her when I grow up.
No, I'm, I'm kidding.
I don't want to grow up, but Ido want to be just like Corinne.
She is so creative.
She recently wrote a children'sbook called Ava Tanner, the city
planner, and she created thefirst ever.
(01:40):
ever Girl Scout city planningpatch.
How fun is that?
I hope you enjoy this episodeand learn some great tips to
include youth in your planningor other civic projects.
Let's jump in.
So very excited to have youtoday and hear about all the
(02:02):
cool things that you're workingon.
So Corinne, why don't you tellour listeners a little bit about
yourself and your background andwhat YEP is all about?
Corrin Wendell (02:12):
Awesome.
Well, thank you, Kelly, so muchfor the invitation to be here
today.
Um, we're really excited toshare what we do, um, as a
nonprofit organization and howcommunities and planners can
also, um, utilize thisinformation, um, and kind of
bring it alongside them asthey're doing their plans.
Um, or maybe even think about,uh, youth engagement in a
(02:34):
different way than they didbefore.
Um, so I'm Corinne Wendell.
So I'm the founder and executivedirector of YEP Youth Engagement
Projects.
Planning, uh, former communitydevelopment director.
Um, and I've been an urbanplanner for almost 20 years.
Um, so I have a background inarchitecture, um, and then city
and regional planning, so I havea bachelor's and then a
master's, uh, in city andregional planning, both from
(02:54):
Ohio state and the organizationactually.
Was founded back in 2006.
Um, right.
Coming out of grad school.
Um, we were actually asked to doan independent study on creating
sort of a, a planner's day inschool manual, um, that we would
bring to the classrooms, um, theK through 12 classrooms around
Columbus, Ohio.
(03:15):
And that was the first time thatI had really thought about,
well, how do we teach kids earlyon about urban planning?
Um, a lot of times when wetalked to.
Um, and so when you talk toplanners and you ask them, When
did you learn about planning?
It's usually after their firstdegree or even a second degree
where they have learned abouturban planning, So it's so
important and you know somethingthat we find in our mission to
(03:37):
be able to introduce the youknow the career earlier on.
Um and so Yep was born.
So Yep is a nonprofitorganization that focuses on
teaching kids K through 12 abouturban planning and civic
engagement and how they can.
create meaningful participationin their communities, how they
can be voices for theircommunities to be advocates.
(03:59):
And then we also have a lot offree tools and resources on our
website to help planners and aswell as webinars and workshops
to teach planners how toincorporate youth into the plans
that they're creating.
So that you can encompass anentire community and not just a
segment leading up the importantperspective of youth.
(04:19):
And so with us being a 501c3,we've been able to actually have
not only nationwide programming,but international programming as
well.
Well, which is amazing.
Um, and we've been able todevelop different kind of, um,
curriculum and programming, um,for different types of youth,
um, different age groups in thatyouth category.
(04:39):
Um, and then also planners to beable to bring that education,
um, to cities, to organizations,um, to, um, kind of increase and
enhance.
Um, what they do as planner.
So it's really been an amazing,um, almost 18 years now with the
organization and, um, and wehave a lot more, um, coming.
So, and so thank you for theinvitation.
It's been really great to beable to kind of go out and, um,
(05:02):
teach this, you know, across thecountry and, um, internationally
as well.
Kelly Hickler (05:06):
Yeah, that's so exciting.
And can you share maybe just, Idon't know, one or two or a few
of the project, the specificprojects that you've worked on
and gotten youth involved in?
Corrin Wendell (05:22):
Yes, absolutely.
So it's often that, um, We, youknow, we work with cities, um,
to enhance their plans, toincorporate youth engagement,
um, and, you know, have theirrecommendations included, um,
into the plans.
And then we also, um, haveevents at the National Planning
Conference every year that's,um, Um, we have a youth
conference hosted by A P A andwe interact with use of the city
(05:44):
that the conference is takingplace.
And so then we incorporate alocal plan or effort that's
going on and include youth inthat on the city side, we were
having a really good kind ofoutcome where actually the city
of little Canada right used towork with.
Um, they were doing a parkmaster plan, and I had arrived
(06:05):
just.
Um, and they were trying to gettheir park master plan off the
ground.
And it was really tough to kindof decide like, what did the
kids actually want?
Because in the communitysurveys, it did not include
youth.
And so I asked the staff, Hey,would it be okay if we went back
and sort of redid this part ofit?
(06:26):
And not everyone was super happyabout that.
Like right away.
But it was so important to beable to spend the time and
effort doing that process inorder to get the best outcome
possible, especially since youthwere gonna be a major, a
participant, um, and a majorstakeholder in this effort.
And so we were able to go intothe classroom.
(06:48):
So we had three differentschools and engaged with over
600 youth.
Um, wow.
It was really cool, you know,booming in, we're sending, you
know, um, activities to theclassroom and they were able to
do qualitative and quantitative,um, type of activities for us
to, um, gather information.
So they were taking surveys.
We gave them experience.
(07:08):
explainer videos.
We had them do, um, an artproject with whatever medium
that they were comfortable with,Um, so it's like clay or drawing
or putting together, you know,paper kind of sculptures.
And then the teachers would sendus the information and we're
able to catalog all of that dataand then be able to come up with
their top eight recommendationsfor the park for the master
(07:30):
plan.
And so what happened is all oftheir The park master plan.
They were able, it was so cool.
They were able to incorporateall of their voices into that.
And then just, um, a couplemonths ago, they broke ground on
the pioneer park playground.
And all of the elements thatthey wanted to see in that area
(07:53):
were implemented into thatprocess.
It was so fun.
And then it full circle, whichwe love to do is bring youth
back, you know, in thebeginning, middle and end.
So they were able to come to theribbon cutting.
They were able to see theoutcome.
And it was, it was fantastic.
So It was so great to have likethat full circle moment with the
youth and they really feltvalued and they really felt like
(08:16):
they were a part of theircommunity in a very meaningful
way.
So it was super fun.
Kelly Hickler (08:20):
Oh, that's great.
That's so important.
Even if they don't decide tobecome city planners, whatever
they go on to do, at least theyfeel like, Oh, Hey, I had that
experience where I was able toaffect.
Change, real change.
I saw the physical results of megetting involved.
Corrin Wendell (08:39):
Absolutely.
Yes, we love, you know, in ourorganization, we really want to,
um, increase access to what wedo.
We want to reduce barriers.
We want to ensure that they havea seat at the table and that
they feel comfortable going to acity council meeting or planning
commission meeting and seeingthe process happen.
You know, being a part of thatlocal government process where
(08:59):
they really can be changemakers.
And they can really have a voicethat no one else has at the
table.
Their perspective is so uniqueand it's so valued and deserves
to be a part of that.
Kelly Hickler (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thank you so much fordoing that great work.
And what you had mentioned to mebefore that you were selected to
work on this Imagine 2050 Plan.
Can you talk through that?
And what kind of things areinvolved?
Corrin Wendell (09:31):
Yeah.
So this is really an excitingopportunity where, um, actually,
uh, before Little Canada workedwith the Metropolitan Council,
um, as a regional planner, uh,in the Twin City areas in
Minnesota.
And what they're doing as partof their Imagine 2050 plan,
every, um, 10 years, they updatetheir plan for the region.
So it's, you know, 188communities, seven county metro
(09:54):
and they really want to makesure that they're like
overlapping all of theirresources and really maximizing
and being effective with their,you know, the planning efforts
that they have.
And so, uh, they selected Yep tobe one of the youth engagement
artists.
That's what they call us.
And so over between now and thefall, we're going to be engaging
(10:15):
with all of the seven countymetro areas and putting on
events.
Where kiddos can come andinteract with different
activities, they can learn aboutthe Met Council, they can learn
about the vision and goals ofImagine 2050, and be able to
have their own opinions andtheir own comments about how,
what they would like to see intheir communities.
(10:38):
This is really cool because it'slike, you know, natural
resources, wastewater, you know,parks and rec, um, land use,
housing, so it really coverseverything you'd see in a
comprehensive plan.
It's the comprehensive plan forthe region is what it is.
Okay, wow.
And so we're going to be able tohave individual unique
experiences for all of theyouth.
(11:00):
Um, and you know, we do Kthrough 12, but we also
incorporate, um, youth 18 to 26as part of our vision of what
youth are.
And so, um, we, uh, already didone event, um, with the Girl
Scouts, and then we will beputting on the other events.
Um, later on here, um, in July,August and September, uh, and
that is the first time that theyhave ever requested youth
(11:24):
engagement in this way.
So this is very novel and thisis very at the forefront of what
plans
Kelly Hickler (11:32):
really should be.
Yeah, this sounds like thiscould serve as a really great
example for other agencies tofollow and say, okay, what did
they do?
How did they involve the kids?
And let's do that too.
Corrin Wendell (11:45):
Exactly.
Yeah.
Because, you know, a lot oftimes I talk with planners and,
you know, it's, It's hardbecause, you know, they don't
have enough maybe staff orresources or funds to be able to
do these things.
And we would like to show that,you know, we can help you with
the tools and resources, youknow, we can help you understand
how to budget for this.
Um, and people, you know, someplanners, uh, maybe are more
(12:08):
skeptical, you know, can usereally like be helpful to their
community at their age, youknow, what, you know, what can
they actually offer?
Um, and it's So enlightening andeye opening, um, for all the,
all of the planners that theyactually wouldn't change a thing
once they've incorporated youthinto what they do, they will
always do it from now on.
(12:30):
So, yeah, so this is a greatexample for others, um, other
MPOs, um, other cities,communities, you know, counties,
um, large and smallorganizations, um, can utilize
sort of, you know, this templateand be able to carry it forth.
Oh, okay.
That's great.
Kelly Hickler (12:45):
So what if someone, I'm sure everyone would
love to work with you, but whatif someone can't bring you on to
work on their project?
Are there a few tips or tricksor things that you could
recommend to city planners toincorporate, or maybe even other
planning consultants toincorporate into their work?
Corrin Wendell (13:08):
Oh, absolutely.
We have, I think we have it onour website or even our social
media channels.
We have like the top 10 ways tolike incorporate youth into what
you do.
And these are the very easy kindof low hanging fruit
opportunities for planners to beable to do this.
And, you know, One is just havethese discussions, you know,
have an open discussion, startto talk about it.
(13:29):
What does it look like if we arealways thinking about our youth
in the planning that we do, inthe events that we're doing, the
programming, um, the communityengagement?
We ask, you know, if there areline items for community
engagement in your, you know,city budget or a consult, you
know, consulting budget toincorporate youth.
As a line item in there so thatthey're accounted for and that
(13:52):
you have the staff, um, youknow, yep.
We're always available toeither, uh, work remotely or
come out to your community tohelp you with this.
We'll be doing that, um, in afew projects later this year,
which will be so fun.
We're so excited about it.
And also if you want to havestakeholders at the table,
there's an opportunity for, um,cities to be able to incorporate
(14:13):
youth commissioners.
On a planning commission on apark and rec commission, a
little Canada did this.
We changed our ordinance so thatwe could have, um, high
schoolers sit on our planningcommission and our park and rec
commission.
And there were two young ladiesof color and they were amazing.
And they started as freshmen andthey actually want to go three,
(14:34):
like they've, um, signed on foranother year and then they left,
loved it so much that they're onfor another year.
So they're going to be in therethree years.
Oh, wow.
And they're full voting members.
They get paid like the rest ofthe members.
Um, one of them is the vicechair now of the park.
Kelly Hickler (14:50):
Okay.
Corrin Wendell (14:51):
So they're like being super leaders in what they
do.
Um, you could have like a youthcouncil.
You could have a separatecouncil just dedicated to youth.
Um, during national communityplanning month, you could go
into your library and schoolsand do a planner's day in
school.
Um, all of the, The PowerPointand all of the materials are on
our website.
You could just download them forfree and go and teach about what
(15:13):
you do.
You know, kind of spread theword about planning and how fun
it is and what you do as aplanner.
Maybe share projects or what'shappening in the community.
Um, you could have a webpage,you know, on your city's
website, um, that's dedicated toYou know, to how youth can
participate, um, in differentefforts that are going on.
So there's many different waysto be able to do this outreach
(15:35):
and then also have it ingrainedin what you do, just have it a
part of it and not somethingextra or special or an add on,
like just right in there, youknow, from the beginning.
Kelly Hickler (15:46):
Yeah, that's what I really like about everything
you're suggesting is it's notjust an add on to okay, we're
updating our comp plan and we'lladd on a survey for kids or
something that feels very muchjust like an afterthought.
This is, this is aboutfundamentally changing the way
(16:07):
that you're doing your processand.
Incorporating kids into the theoverall process like with the
youth commissions or them beinga part of the real parks and rec
commission.
I
Corrin Wendell (16:23):
love that story.
It really is and you know it'snot only you like I always say I
get so much more out of Anythingthat I do with youth and I ever
put in like it is such a gift tobe able to interact with youth
and to be able to have thosemeaningful conversations and you
are also growing them in a waythat they've never grown before.
(16:44):
You're, you know, giving them awindow into something that You
know, maybe they felt was notfor them or that they didn't,
you know, belong, um, to thatprocess until they're older or
until, you know, they're, youknow, more qualified.
Um, but that's not the case, youknow, they're qualified at their
ages, you know, in this moment,because we don't know their
perspectives until they tell us.
(17:05):
And a lot of these plans thatcomp 30 years out.
So by the time a 10 year old.
Realize is a compliment.
They're going to be my age, youknow, and why not have their
perspective and then they cansee that realized over time.
Um, and it really just givesthem more, um, you know, opening
the doors into kind of being apart of things and, and growing
(17:26):
that civic, um, kind ofrelationship between a city and
a person, you know, they don't,They kind of don't know, um, the
back, kind of backroom stuffthat we know, you know, we know
a lot of things that happenbehind the scenes, um, and they
don't.
So it's really great to be ableto introduce that early on the
vocabulary, kind of the process,um, and then really taking them
(17:47):
through the engagement, youknow, kind of sections of like,
we're, you know, we'relistening, we're engaging, you
know, we're circling back, youknow, Um, we have a best
practices on our website thatpeople could look at and it
takes you through all of thedifferent engagement processes
from initial engagement to kindof your finishing engagement and
what to do and and everything inbetween.
(18:08):
So it's really a great guide forthat, but you're really bringing
these along for the entireprocess.
Kelly Hickler (18:14):
That's so powerful because I don't know
about everyone else, but I feellike when I was going to school,
any education about civics wasrelated to national, is that the
national level about howCongress, you know, the Congress
works or House ofRepresentatives or the, so you
vote for the president orwhatnot, but there was really no
(18:36):
education or discussion abouteven.
Maybe a little bit of statelevel, but nothing regional and
definitely nothing on the locallevel.
So what a great opportunity toeducate kids on how, hey, you
can have An impact, even muchmore of an impact at the local
(19:01):
level, like, yes, of course,vote for the president and, you
know, be involved at thenational level, but you can have
a huge impact if you getinvolved locally.
So
Corrin Wendell (19:14):
yes, absolutely.
Well, and I wanted to mentiontwo of the things that we, um,
launched this year that have todo with the introduction and
kind of bringing kids alongearly on.
And so, um, we published ourbooks, our first ever children's
books.
We have Ava Tanner, the cityplanner.
Um, this is available on Amazon.
Um, and we have a lot ofplanners that have purchased
(19:38):
books.
Um, to bring into schoollibraries to bring into the
classroom, um, to gift, um, tolittle, you know, kids, um,
towards that five through 11year old, um, age group.
And it talks about like, we havea glossary, we have an activity
in the back, you know, we have astory about changing your
community and things that cancome along the way and
(19:58):
advocating to city council, wehave a whole, um, I'll show you
the you know, um, she goes intocity council to advocate for the
plans that they want to Um haveum for the community And it just
is an eye opener for kids andthere's never been a city
planning book for kids likebefore Yeah, I have not seen
(20:19):
that.
Kelly Hickler (20:20):
I mean, I remember when I was a kid.
There was the richard scaryBooks like oh, yes.
What is that one?
Yeah, I think it's
Corrin Wendell (20:28):
the ultimate cities.
There's one like a city one.
Uh You Yeah, one of those.
You're right.
Yeah, there's
Kelly Hickler (20:34):
little stuff like that.
They kind of beat around thebush like it kind of touched on
city planning, but it nevercalled it city plan.
Corrin Wendell (20:45):
Absolutely.
So, and then another one is ourfirst ever Girl Scout city
planning patch.
So this is, um, you know,planner and training.
Um, so yep.
And then youth engagementplanning.
And this is available on thewebsite as well.
And we developed a curriculumalongside the Girl Scouts for
all of their age groups fortheir girls.
(21:05):
So they're, um, the youngestones, you know, brownies all the
way to, um, the explorers.
And this is something that, um,Girl Scout troops can do, or you
could just do it in theclassroom too.
You know, you can kind ofachieve all the different areas
of curriculum.
Um, and then.
A girl scout or a patch, youknow, our youth engagement PLA
patch for planner and trainingand is so episode is so fun.
(21:29):
Yes.
I want that.
I can I get the patch Yes.
I'm gonna send it to you.
Yes.
You like I know, right?
It looks good because I know I'mgonna put it on my jean jacket.
Kelly Hickler (21:42):
Um, yeah.
And see I was actually a GirlScout.
So I still have like my browniesash with all my badges,
Corrin Wendell (21:52):
love it.
So in, when we were inMinneapolis, uh, for the
national planning conference, weput on, um, an event.
So we had 40 planners and thenwe had a hundred girl Scouts
come and they did five rotationsof urban planning activities,
um, based on our curriculum forthe patch, and then they all
earned a patch and a book beforethey left.
(22:13):
Hello.
And it was outstanding.
It was so fun.
We had a such a fun time withthem.
And some of them were like, thisis the best day ever.
Like they just have the bestresponses.
Kelly Hickler (22:25):
I love that.
Where, where can people find thecurriculum for the Girl Scout
patch?
Corrin Wendell (22:32):
Yes.
So we, um, so they can email medirectly.
Um, and I can send it to them.
Um, the patches, you can orderthem online and then we should
have the curriculum.
I believe we're trying to uploadit on the website.
So it'll be under the resources.
Um, I have all the printedcopies, so I've been mailing it
to people and then emailing it,but we should have it on the
(22:53):
website here soon.
Um, but if you want it rightaway, I will, I'll email over
the um, the PDFs.
Um, okay, great.
Kelly Hickler (23:02):
Yeah, maybe we can upload that to the Engaging
Cities website too.
Yeah, push it out.
That would be great.
Oh, all right.
Uh, was there anything else thatyou wanted to share with our
listeners today?
Corrin Wendell (23:18):
Yeah, I just, you know, I always want to, um,
you know, in the, we do a lot ofkeynote speaking.
So if you need yet to come anddeliver a keynote speech, uh,
we're so happy to do that.
We were in the UK last year,we're going to Canada and a
bunch of other, um, cities, uh,this year, um, and, you know,
doing workshops and, you know,and speaking and all that fun
stuff.
Um, so we'd be happy to do that,um, or just contact us through
(23:41):
the website.
Um, should you need Planning,um, youth engagement efforts.
Um, we would love to help withthat.
And, you know, upcoming, we havea couple more, um, uh, we're
going to do a series with AvaTanner, the city planner.
So we're going to havedifferent, um, types of
chapters, um, and introducedifferent characters.
So that's on the way, um, whichis going to be super fun.
(24:03):
And then we're working towards,um, a YEP camp.
Um, that we are going to startto, um, put together, uh, the
logistics for that so that wecan have people, uh, kind of
deploy, um, camps, you know,where they are in their cities,
um, to be able to have youthengagement, um, on a more, yes,
more technical level.
And okay.
(24:23):
activities.
So we'll have, you know, um, allof the materials and supplies,
um, that you would need to, toput a camp on.
So those are all coming soon.
So it's really exciting.
Um, and if you, if you see, youknow, youth engagement and, you
know, this type of, you know,um, Planning type.
So we've had people say, can youdo something youth engagement
and more climate or youthengagement and school planning
(24:46):
or youth engagement?
You know, there's a certaintypology that you would like us
to do or help with, um, ordevelop curriculum, please reach
out to us.
Um, and we'll be happy to helpyou with that.
Kelly Hickler (24:57):
Oh, that's wonderful.
Okay.
So in case, I don't think wealready said the website.
What is the, what is thewebsite?
Yes.
Corrin Wendell (25:06):
So it.
Um,www.youthengagementplanning.org.
Um, and then I dunno if people,we have, I don't think we have
the QR on here.
Um, we don't.
But yeah, so just youthengagement planning.org.
Um, and then we're also onInstagram, LinkedIn, um, you can
find me too, Corinne Wendell,um, on those channels as well.
(25:27):
Um, and yeah, we would love tohelp you and, um, just enhance
what you do as planners, whichwould be really cool, or go into
the schools and teach about whatyou do as a planner.
The kids love it.
The teachers love it.
It's such a wonderfulexperience.
Um, so we encourage everybody togo out and do that.
Kelly Hickler (25:44):
Oh, that's so wonderful.
Yeah.
And I, I have been a few eventslike that and I have to share
this story.
I went to a kindergarten toteach kids about planning and I
just, I brought, I cut out somepictures of things that you
would find in a city and I'mthinking of, you know, what,
what are, kindergartners gonnaknow.
(26:05):
And I'm looking at the picturesof things like, okay, where do
you think this should go in thecity?
And having them plot it out.
And I hold up one, I just cutout a picture of kind of a, like
a meandering sidewalk.
And I, I held it up.
And I was like, okay, what isthis?
And I thought, oh, they're justgonna say sidewalk.
And this little boy,kindergarten was like,
(26:28):
greenbelt.
Wow.
Like, what do your parents do?
Wow.
That's amazing.
You're like, and they knoweverything.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
There's adults who don't knowthat word.
Corrin Wendell (26:50):
Well done.
Oh my gosh.
And it is, it's amazing whatthey absorb and they know, and
they understand already.
Like it's just incredible.
Wow.
Kelly Hickler (27:00):
Yeah, I mean, they're, they are.
Some of the most active users ofthe urban space or suburban
space, public space, becausethey're walking to school,
biking to school, going to playwith their friends.
Yes, absolutely.
They
Corrin Wendell (27:19):
know.
They sure do.
It's so great.
Well, and you know, there's alot of movements to have, you
know, more kid friendly citiesand kid friendly, you know, um,
urban planning and urban design,you know, that's based, you
know, for kids and families tobe able to navigate.
Um, but it helps everyone, youknow, youth are 22 percent of
the population and they're oftennot included.
(27:40):
You know, I don't think wewould.
Not ask, you know, other pop,you know, 22% of another
population not to participate.
Kelly Hickler (27:48):
Uhhuh Uhhuh.
Exactly.
That's a great point.
We have so much to offer.
Yeah.
Yes.
Well, thank you Corinne, so muchfor being on our podcast and,
um.
Hopefully we get some morefollowers who reach out to you
and take you up on your, youroffers to, to help them out.
(28:11):
So, um, so thanks again andthank you listeners for tuning
in, head on over toengagingcities.
org where you can findadditional episodes and other
resources related to communityengagement.
And thanks again to our generoussponsor, Conveo.
We'll see you guys next time.
(28:31):
Bye!
Welcome to episode three of engaging
cities, fireside chats on eachepisode of the show.
I talked to leaders who arepaving the way in civic
engagement in order to inspirelisteners and share strategies
that you can implement in yourown community.
This podcast is proudlysupported by our sponsor,
(00:33):
Conveo, the engagement platformfor plans and policies.
Check them out at K O N V E I Odot com.
I'm your host, Kelly Hickler,the community manager with
Engaging Cities, as well as thefounder of Cinovation Studio,
which is dedicated to innovativecivic education and engagement.
(00:57):
On today's episode, I'm talkingwith the fabulous Corinne
Wendell, the founder andexecutive director of YEP, Youth
Engagement Planning.
YEP is a nonprofit org that'sfocused on educating young
people in grades K through 12and beyond about urban planning
(01:18):
and civic engagement.
Corinne is so cool and I want tobe.
Just like her when I grow up.
No, I'm, I'm kidding.
I don't want to grow up, but Ido want to be just like Corinne.
She is so creative.
She recently wrote a children'sbook called Ava Tanner, the city
planner, and she created thefirst ever.
(01:40):
ever Girl Scout city planningpatch.
How fun is that?
I hope you enjoy this episodeand learn some great tips to
include youth in your planningor other civic projects.
Let's jump in.
So very excited to have youtoday and hear about all the
(02:02):
cool things that you're workingon.
So Corinne, why don't you tellour listeners a little bit about
yourself and your background andwhat YEP is all about?
Corrin Wendell (02:12):
Awesome.
Well, thank you, Kelly, so muchfor the invitation to be here
today.
Um, we're really excited toshare what we do, um, as a
nonprofit organization and howcommunities and planners can
also, um, utilize thisinformation, um, and kind of
bring it alongside them asthey're doing their plans.
Um, or maybe even think about,uh, youth engagement in a
(02:34):
different way than they didbefore.
Um, so I'm Corinne Wendell.
So I'm the founder and executivedirector of YEP Youth Engagement
Projects.
Planning, uh, former communitydevelopment director.
Um, and I've been an urbanplanner for almost 20 years.
Um, so I have a background inarchitecture, um, and then city
and regional planning, so I havea bachelor's and then a
master's, uh, in city andregional planning, both from
(02:54):
Ohio state and the organizationactually.
Was founded back in 2006.
Um, right.
Coming out of grad school.
Um, we were actually asked to doan independent study on creating
sort of a, a planner's day inschool manual, um, that we would
bring to the classrooms, um, theK through 12 classrooms around
Columbus, Ohio.
(03:15):
And that was the first time thatI had really thought about,
well, how do we teach kids earlyon about urban planning?
Um, a lot of times when wetalked to.
Um, and so when you talk toplanners and you ask them, When
did you learn about planning?
It's usually after their firstdegree or even a second degree
where they have learned abouturban planning, So it's so
important and you know somethingthat we find in our mission to
(03:37):
be able to introduce the youknow the career earlier on.
Um and so Yep was born.
So Yep is a nonprofitorganization that focuses on
teaching kids K through 12 abouturban planning and civic
engagement and how they can.
create meaningful participationin their communities, how they
can be voices for theircommunities to be advocates.
(03:59):
And then we also have a lot offree tools and resources on our
website to help planners and aswell as webinars and workshops
to teach planners how toincorporate youth into the plans
that they're creating.
So that you can encompass anentire community and not just a
segment leading up the importantperspective of youth.
(04:19):
And so with us being a 501c3,we've been able to actually have
not only nationwide programming,but international programming as
well.
Well, which is amazing.
Um, and we've been able todevelop different kind of, um,
curriculum and programming, um,for different types of youth,
um, different age groups in thatyouth category.
(04:39):
Um, and then also planners to beable to bring that education,
um, to cities, to organizations,um, to, um, kind of increase and
enhance.
Um, what they do as planner.
So it's really been an amazing,um, almost 18 years now with the
organization and, um, and wehave a lot more, um, coming.
So, and so thank you for theinvitation.
It's been really great to beable to kind of go out and, um,
(05:02):
teach this, you know, across thecountry and, um, internationally
as well.
Kelly Hickler (05:06):
Yeah, that's so exciting.
And can you share maybe just, Idon't know, one or two or a few
of the project, the specificprojects that you've worked on
and gotten youth involved in?
Corrin Wendell (05:22):
Yes, absolutely.
So it's often that, um, We, youknow, we work with cities, um,
to enhance their plans, toincorporate youth engagement,
um, and, you know, have theirrecommendations included, um,
into the plans.
And then we also, um, haveevents at the National Planning
Conference every year that's,um, Um, we have a youth
conference hosted by A P A andwe interact with use of the city
(05:44):
that the conference is takingplace.
And so then we incorporate alocal plan or effort that's
going on and include youth inthat on the city side, we were
having a really good kind ofoutcome where actually the city
of little Canada right used towork with.
Um, they were doing a parkmaster plan, and I had arrived
(06:05):
just.
Um, and they were trying to gettheir park master plan off the
ground.
And it was really tough to kindof decide like, what did the
kids actually want?
Because in the communitysurveys, it did not include
youth.
And so I asked the staff, Hey,would it be okay if we went back
and sort of redid this part ofit?
(06:26):
And not everyone was super happyabout that.
Like right away.
But it was so important to beable to spend the time and
effort doing that process inorder to get the best outcome
possible, especially since youthwere gonna be a major, a
participant, um, and a majorstakeholder in this effort.
And so we were able to go intothe classroom.
(06:48):
So we had three differentschools and engaged with over
600 youth.
Um, wow.
It was really cool, you know,booming in, we're sending, you
know, um, activities to theclassroom and they were able to
do qualitative and quantitative,um, type of activities for us
to, um, gather information.
So they were taking surveys.
We gave them experience.
(07:08):
explainer videos.
We had them do, um, an artproject with whatever medium
that they were comfortable with,Um, so it's like clay or drawing
or putting together, you know,paper kind of sculptures.
And then the teachers would sendus the information and we're
able to catalog all of that dataand then be able to come up with
their top eight recommendationsfor the park for the master
(07:30):
plan.
And so what happened is all oftheir The park master plan.
They were able, it was so cool.
They were able to incorporateall of their voices into that.
And then just, um, a couplemonths ago, they broke ground on
the pioneer park playground.
And all of the elements thatthey wanted to see in that area
(07:53):
were implemented into thatprocess.
It was so fun.
And then it full circle, whichwe love to do is bring youth
back, you know, in thebeginning, middle and end.
So they were able to come to theribbon cutting.
They were able to see theoutcome.
And it was, it was fantastic.
So It was so great to have likethat full circle moment with the
youth and they really feltvalued and they really felt like
(08:16):
they were a part of theircommunity in a very meaningful
way.
So it was super fun.
Kelly Hickler (08:20):
Oh, that's great.
That's so important.
Even if they don't decide tobecome city planners, whatever
they go on to do, at least theyfeel like, Oh, Hey, I had that
experience where I was able toaffect.
Change, real change.
I saw the physical results of megetting involved.
Corrin Wendell (08:39):
Absolutely.
Yes, we love, you know, in ourorganization, we really want to,
um, increase access to what wedo.
We want to reduce barriers.
We want to ensure that they havea seat at the table and that
they feel comfortable going to acity council meeting or planning
commission meeting and seeingthe process happen.
You know, being a part of thatlocal government process where
(08:59):
they really can be changemakers.
And they can really have a voicethat no one else has at the
table.
Their perspective is so uniqueand it's so valued and deserves
to be a part of that.
Kelly Hickler (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thank you so much fordoing that great work.
And what you had mentioned to mebefore that you were selected to
work on this Imagine 2050 Plan.
Can you talk through that?
And what kind of things areinvolved?
Corrin Wendell (09:31):
Yeah.
So this is really an excitingopportunity where, um, actually,
uh, before Little Canada workedwith the Metropolitan Council,
um, as a regional planner, uh,in the Twin City areas in
Minnesota.
And what they're doing as partof their Imagine 2050 plan,
every, um, 10 years, they updatetheir plan for the region.
So it's, you know, 188communities, seven county metro
(09:54):
and they really want to makesure that they're like
overlapping all of theirresources and really maximizing
and being effective with their,you know, the planning efforts
that they have.
And so, uh, they selected Yep tobe one of the youth engagement
artists.
That's what they call us.
And so over between now and thefall, we're going to be engaging
(10:15):
with all of the seven countymetro areas and putting on
events.
Where kiddos can come andinteract with different
activities, they can learn aboutthe Met Council, they can learn
about the vision and goals ofImagine 2050, and be able to
have their own opinions andtheir own comments about how,
what they would like to see intheir communities.
(10:38):
This is really cool because it'slike, you know, natural
resources, wastewater, you know,parks and rec, um, land use,
housing, so it really coverseverything you'd see in a
comprehensive plan.
It's the comprehensive plan forthe region is what it is.
Okay, wow.
And so we're going to be able tohave individual unique
experiences for all of theyouth.
(11:00):
Um, and you know, we do Kthrough 12, but we also
incorporate, um, youth 18 to 26as part of our vision of what
youth are.
And so, um, we, uh, already didone event, um, with the Girl
Scouts, and then we will beputting on the other events.
Um, later on here, um, in July,August and September, uh, and
that is the first time that theyhave ever requested youth
(11:24):
engagement in this way.
So this is very novel and thisis very at the forefront of what
plans
Kelly Hickler (11:32):
really should be.
Yeah, this sounds like thiscould serve as a really great
example for other agencies tofollow and say, okay, what did
they do?
How did they involve the kids?
And let's do that too.
Corrin Wendell (11:45):
Exactly.
Yeah.
Because, you know, a lot oftimes I talk with planners and,
you know, it's, It's hardbecause, you know, they don't
have enough maybe staff orresources or funds to be able to
do these things.
And we would like to show that,you know, we can help you with
the tools and resources, youknow, we can help you understand
how to budget for this.
Um, and people, you know, someplanners, uh, maybe are more
(12:08):
skeptical, you know, can usereally like be helpful to their
community at their age, youknow, what, you know, what can
they actually offer?
Um, and it's So enlightening andeye opening, um, for all the,
all of the planners that theyactually wouldn't change a thing
once they've incorporated youthinto what they do, they will
always do it from now on.
(12:30):
So, yeah, so this is a greatexample for others, um, other
MPOs, um, other cities,communities, you know, counties,
um, large and smallorganizations, um, can utilize
sort of, you know, this templateand be able to carry it forth.
Oh, okay.
That's great.
Kelly Hickler (12:45):
So what if someone, I'm sure everyone would
love to work with you, but whatif someone can't bring you on to
work on their project?
Are there a few tips or tricksor things that you could
recommend to city planners toincorporate, or maybe even other
planning consultants toincorporate into their work?
Corrin Wendell (13:08):
Oh, absolutely.
We have, I think we have it onour website or even our social
media channels.
We have like the top 10 ways tolike incorporate youth into what
you do.
And these are the very easy kindof low hanging fruit
opportunities for planners to beable to do this.
And, you know, One is just havethese discussions, you know,
have an open discussion, startto talk about it.
(13:29):
What does it look like if we arealways thinking about our youth
in the planning that we do, inthe events that we're doing, the
programming, um, the communityengagement?
We ask, you know, if there areline items for community
engagement in your, you know,city budget or a consult, you
know, consulting budget toincorporate youth.
As a line item in there so thatthey're accounted for and that
(13:52):
you have the staff, um, youknow, yep.
We're always available toeither, uh, work remotely or
come out to your community tohelp you with this.
We'll be doing that, um, in afew projects later this year,
which will be so fun.
We're so excited about it.
And also if you want to havestakeholders at the table,
there's an opportunity for, um,cities to be able to incorporate
(14:13):
youth commissioners.
On a planning commission on apark and rec commission, a
little Canada did this.
We changed our ordinance so thatwe could have, um, high
schoolers sit on our planningcommission and our park and rec
commission.
And there were two young ladiesof color and they were amazing.
And they started as freshmen andthey actually want to go three,
(14:34):
like they've, um, signed on foranother year and then they left,
loved it so much that they're onfor another year.
So they're going to be in therethree years.
Oh, wow.
And they're full voting members.
They get paid like the rest ofthe members.
Um, one of them is the vicechair now of the park.
Kelly Hickler (14:50):
Okay.
Corrin Wendell (14:51):
So they're like being super leaders in what they
do.
Um, you could have like a youthcouncil.
You could have a separatecouncil just dedicated to youth.
Um, during national communityplanning month, you could go
into your library and schoolsand do a planner's day in
school.
Um, all of the, The PowerPointand all of the materials are on
our website.
You could just download them forfree and go and teach about what
(15:13):
you do.
You know, kind of spread theword about planning and how fun
it is and what you do as aplanner.
Maybe share projects or what'shappening in the community.
Um, you could have a webpage,you know, on your city's
website, um, that's dedicated toYou know, to how youth can
participate, um, in differentefforts that are going on.
So there's many different waysto be able to do this outreach
(15:35):
and then also have it ingrainedin what you do, just have it a
part of it and not somethingextra or special or an add on,
like just right in there, youknow, from the beginning.
Kelly Hickler (15:46):
Yeah, that's what I really like about everything
you're suggesting is it's notjust an add on to okay, we're
updating our comp plan and we'lladd on a survey for kids or
something that feels very muchjust like an afterthought.
This is, this is aboutfundamentally changing the way
(16:07):
that you're doing your processand.
Incorporating kids into the theoverall process like with the
youth commissions or them beinga part of the real parks and rec
commission.
I
Corrin Wendell (16:23):
love that story.
It really is and you know it'snot only you like I always say I
get so much more out of Anythingthat I do with youth and I ever
put in like it is such a gift tobe able to interact with youth
and to be able to have thosemeaningful conversations and you
are also growing them in a waythat they've never grown before.
(16:44):
You're, you know, giving them awindow into something that You
know, maybe they felt was notfor them or that they didn't,
you know, belong, um, to thatprocess until they're older or
until, you know, they're, youknow, more qualified.
Um, but that's not the case, youknow, they're qualified at their
ages, you know, in this moment,because we don't know their
perspectives until they tell us.
(17:05):
And a lot of these plans thatcomp 30 years out.
So by the time a 10 year old.
Realize is a compliment.
They're going to be my age, youknow, and why not have their
perspective and then they cansee that realized over time.
Um, and it really just givesthem more, um, you know, opening
the doors into kind of being apart of things and, and growing
(17:26):
that civic, um, kind ofrelationship between a city and
a person, you know, they don't,They kind of don't know, um, the
back, kind of backroom stuffthat we know, you know, we know
a lot of things that happenbehind the scenes, um, and they
don't.
So it's really great to be ableto introduce that early on the
vocabulary, kind of the process,um, and then really taking them
(17:47):
through the engagement, youknow, kind of sections of like,
we're, you know, we'relistening, we're engaging, you
know, we're circling back, youknow, Um, we have a best
practices on our website thatpeople could look at and it
takes you through all of thedifferent engagement processes
from initial engagement to kindof your finishing engagement and
what to do and and everything inbetween.
(18:08):
So it's really a great guide forthat, but you're really bringing
these along for the entireprocess.
Kelly Hickler (18:14):
That's so powerful because I don't know
about everyone else, but I feellike when I was going to school,
any education about civics wasrelated to national, is that the
national level about howCongress, you know, the Congress
works or House ofRepresentatives or the, so you
vote for the president orwhatnot, but there was really no
(18:36):
education or discussion abouteven.
Maybe a little bit of statelevel, but nothing regional and
definitely nothing on the locallevel.
So what a great opportunity toeducate kids on how, hey, you
can have An impact, even muchmore of an impact at the local
(19:01):
level, like, yes, of course,vote for the president and, you
know, be involved at thenational level, but you can have
a huge impact if you getinvolved locally.
So
Corrin Wendell (19:14):
yes, absolutely.
Well, and I wanted to mentiontwo of the things that we, um,
launched this year that have todo with the introduction and
kind of bringing kids alongearly on.
And so, um, we published ourbooks, our first ever children's
books.
We have Ava Tanner, the cityplanner.
Um, this is available on Amazon.
Um, and we have a lot ofplanners that have purchased
(19:38):
books.
Um, to bring into schoollibraries to bring into the
classroom, um, to gift, um, tolittle, you know, kids, um,
towards that five through 11year old, um, age group.
And it talks about like, we havea glossary, we have an activity
in the back, you know, we have astory about changing your
community and things that cancome along the way and
(19:58):
advocating to city council, wehave a whole, um, I'll show you
the you know, um, she goes intocity council to advocate for the
plans that they want to Um haveum for the community And it just
is an eye opener for kids andthere's never been a city
planning book for kids likebefore Yeah, I have not seen
(20:19):
that.
Kelly Hickler (20:20):
I mean, I remember when I was a kid.
There was the richard scaryBooks like oh, yes.
What is that one?
Yeah, I think it's
Corrin Wendell (20:28):
the ultimate cities.
There's one like a city one.
Uh You Yeah, one of those.
You're right.
Yeah, there's
Kelly Hickler (20:34):
little stuff like that.
They kind of beat around thebush like it kind of touched on
city planning, but it nevercalled it city plan.
Corrin Wendell (20:45):
Absolutely.
So, and then another one is ourfirst ever Girl Scout city
planning patch.
So this is, um, you know,planner and training.
Um, so yep.
And then youth engagementplanning.
And this is available on thewebsite as well.
And we developed a curriculumalongside the Girl Scouts for
all of their age groups fortheir girls.
(21:05):
So they're, um, the youngestones, you know, brownies all the
way to, um, the explorers.
And this is something that, um,Girl Scout troops can do, or you
could just do it in theclassroom too.
You know, you can kind ofachieve all the different areas
of curriculum.
Um, and then.
A girl scout or a patch, youknow, our youth engagement PLA
patch for planner and trainingand is so episode is so fun.
(21:29):
Yes.
I want that.
I can I get the patch Yes.
I'm gonna send it to you.
Yes.
You like I know, right?
It looks good because I know I'mgonna put it on my jean jacket.
Kelly Hickler (21:42):
Um, yeah.
And see I was actually a GirlScout.
So I still have like my browniesash with all my badges,
Corrin Wendell (21:52):
love it.
So in, when we were inMinneapolis, uh, for the
national planning conference, weput on, um, an event.
So we had 40 planners and thenwe had a hundred girl Scouts
come and they did five rotationsof urban planning activities,
um, based on our curriculum forthe patch, and then they all
earned a patch and a book beforethey left.
(22:13):
Hello.
And it was outstanding.
It was so fun.
We had a such a fun time withthem.
And some of them were like, thisis the best day ever.
Like they just have the bestresponses.
Kelly Hickler (22:25):
I love that.
Where, where can people find thecurriculum for the Girl Scout
patch?
Corrin Wendell (22:32):
Yes.
So we, um, so they can email medirectly.
Um, and I can send it to them.
Um, the patches, you can orderthem online and then we should
have the curriculum.
I believe we're trying to uploadit on the website.
So it'll be under the resources.
Um, I have all the printedcopies, so I've been mailing it
to people and then emailing it,but we should have it on the
(22:53):
website here soon.
Um, but if you want it rightaway, I will, I'll email over
the um, the PDFs.
Um, okay, great.
Kelly Hickler (23:02):
Yeah, maybe we can upload that to the Engaging
Cities website too.
Yeah, push it out.
That would be great.
Oh, all right.
Uh, was there anything else thatyou wanted to share with our
listeners today?
Corrin Wendell (23:18):
Yeah, I just, you know, I always want to, um,
you know, in the, we do a lot ofkeynote speaking.
So if you need yet to come anddeliver a keynote speech, uh,
we're so happy to do that.
We were in the UK last year,we're going to Canada and a
bunch of other, um, cities, uh,this year, um, and, you know,
doing workshops and, you know,and speaking and all that fun
stuff.
Um, so we'd be happy to do that,um, or just contact us through
(23:41):
the website.
Um, should you need Planning,um, youth engagement efforts.
Um, we would love to help withthat.
And, you know, upcoming, we havea couple more, um, uh, we're
going to do a series with AvaTanner, the city planner.
So we're going to havedifferent, um, types of
chapters, um, and introducedifferent characters.
So that's on the way, um, whichis going to be super fun.
(24:03):
And then we're working towards,um, a YEP camp.
Um, that we are going to startto, um, put together, uh, the
logistics for that so that wecan have people, uh, kind of
deploy, um, camps, you know,where they are in their cities,
um, to be able to have youthengagement, um, on a more, yes,
more technical level.
And okay.
(24:23):
activities.
So we'll have, you know, um, allof the materials and supplies,
um, that you would need to, toput a camp on.
So those are all coming soon.
So it's really exciting.
Um, and if you, if you see, youknow, youth engagement and, you
know, this type of, you know,um, Planning type.
So we've had people say, can youdo something youth engagement
and more climate or youthengagement and school planning
(24:46):
or youth engagement?
You know, there's a certaintypology that you would like us
to do or help with, um, ordevelop curriculum, please reach
out to us.
Um, and we'll be happy to helpyou with that.
Kelly Hickler (24:57):
Oh, that's wonderful.
Okay.
So in case, I don't think wealready said the website.
What is the, what is thewebsite?
Yes.
Corrin Wendell (25:06):
So it.
Um,www.youthengagementplanning.org.
Um, and then I dunno if people,we have, I don't think we have
the QR on here.
Um, we don't.
But yeah, so just youthengagement planning.org.
Um, and then we're also onInstagram, LinkedIn, um, you can
find me too, Corinne Wendell,um, on those channels as well.
(25:27):
Um, and yeah, we would love tohelp you and, um, just enhance
what you do as planners, whichwould be really cool, or go into
the schools and teach about whatyou do as a planner.
The kids love it.
The teachers love it.
It's such a wonderfulexperience.
Um, so we encourage everybody togo out and do that.
Kelly Hickler (25:44):
Oh, that's so wonderful.
Yeah.
And I, I have been a few eventslike that and I have to share
this story.
I went to a kindergarten toteach kids about planning and I
just, I brought, I cut out somepictures of things that you
would find in a city and I'mthinking of, you know, what,
what are, kindergartners gonnaknow.
(26:05):
And I'm looking at the picturesof things like, okay, where do
you think this should go in thecity?
And having them plot it out.
And I hold up one, I just cutout a picture of kind of a, like
a meandering sidewalk.
And I, I held it up.
And I was like, okay, what isthis?
And I thought, oh, they're justgonna say sidewalk.
And this little boy,kindergarten was like,
(26:28):
greenbelt.
Wow.
Like, what do your parents do?
Wow.
That's amazing.
You're like, and they knoweverything.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
There's adults who don't knowthat word.
Corrin Wendell (26:50):
Well done.
Oh my gosh.
And it is, it's amazing whatthey absorb and they know, and
they understand already.
Like it's just incredible.
Wow.
Kelly Hickler (27:00):
Yeah, I mean, they're, they are.
Some of the most active users ofthe urban space or suburban
space, public space, becausethey're walking to school,
biking to school, going to playwith their friends.
Yes, absolutely.
They
Corrin Wendell (27:19):
know.
They sure do.
It's so great.
Well, and you know, there's alot of movements to have, you
know, more kid friendly citiesand kid friendly, you know, um,
urban planning and urban design,you know, that's based, you
know, for kids and families tobe able to navigate.
Um, but it helps everyone, youknow, youth are 22 percent of
the population and they're oftennot included.
(27:40):
You know, I don't think wewould.
Not ask, you know, other pop,you know, 22% of another
population not to participate.
Kelly Hickler (27:48):
Uhhuh Uhhuh.
Exactly.
That's a great point.
We have so much to offer.
Yeah.
Yes.
Well, thank you Corinne, so muchfor being on our podcast and,
um.
Hopefully we get some morefollowers who reach out to you
and take you up on your, youroffers to, to help them out.
(28:11):
So, um, so thanks again andthank you listeners for tuning
in, head on over toengagingcities.
org where you can findadditional episodes and other
resources related to communityengagement.
And thanks again to our generoussponsor, Conveo.
We'll see you guys next time.
(28:31):
Bye!
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