On the 13th of September, the Sustainability Research Group facilitated a workshop for children, as part of the “Future Day” organized by the Sustainability Research Network and the Economics Faculty. The workshop focused on visioning future possibilities for urban areas, based on the work of Rob Hopkins. We used the session to encourage children to think about how urban areas could be used and designed differently in the context of the Superblock concept, which are also currently being trialed in Basel. 

Despite being the last session of the day, the children were very engaged and interested and there were many bright ideas. We asked the children (10-14 years of age) to put these on paper so that we could showcase some of them. 

The described and drawn ideas revolved around greater play areas, music, community food (even a free Michelin star restaurant for locals!), spaces to relax in, and greater green spaces. Also included were ideas for inventions like kinetic floor tiles which produce energy through jumping on them. Overall, it was a fun session that brought creativity and sustainability together.