In Warsaw, On-Site Foundation is empowering youth to steer the future of Warsaw’s mobility, giving them a say in the urban planning process. Through the ‘Breathe-in’ project, part of the Breathe Cities Programme, teenagers are influencing mobility decisions that will affect their futures.
Making their mark on public space
On-Site Foundation is a nonprofit organisation collaborating with public administration, businesses, and residents to shape the social dimension of space. For more than a decade, Magdalena Kubecka has focused on empowering and amplifying youth voices. As Vice-President, she wears many hats: project manager, researcher, and placemaker. Her work centres on three main goals: helping young people learn through practice, ensuring their opinions and needs are heard, and fostering their active participation in political life.
“Working with youth is different from working with adults,” Kubecka explains. “They are not used to being consulted so you have to find unique ways to encourage them to share their opinions.”
...you have to find unique ways to encourage them to share their opinions.
They are offering a fresh perspective on mobility in a city where 800 out of every 1,000 residents own a car. One way Kubecka engages youth is by inviting them to act as local guides in their own neighbourhoods or along their routes to school. They reveal the everyday places often overlooked by adults. As tour guides, kids and teens are literally making their mark on public space with water soluble crayon ‘spray paint’.
“They’re given spray paint and asked to mark spaces they do and don’t like and what could be done to improve them,” says Kubecka. “They love the activity. They become street artists drawing out their ideas.”
Evolving needs, shifting spaces
Children and teenagers change quickly, and their needs evolve just as fast. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to engaging them or designing spaces for them.
Kubecka explains: “There’s a lot of diversity within the category of children. Gender, exact age, and even neighbourhood within the city all come into play.”
Younger children often want to stay within sight of their parents. As they grow, they still seek closeness but also crave a sense of independence and adventure. Teenagers, by contrast, prefer not to be observed, yet they still want to feel safe and have the freedom to speak openly. The balance between visibility, privacy and safety is delicate, and there are no hard rules. Everything depends on context.
When it comes to mobility, On-Site Foundation surveyed Warsaw’s young people about what motivated their transport choices. Time was ranked as the number one factor. Cost was the second most important factor. Environmental impact ranked third, important but still less decisive than time or money.
Teenagers are often seen as difficult to reach, a reputation that is not always fair. Kubecka admits they felt some hesitation at first when approaching schools to involve them.
Teens are motivated to make a difference.
“In the beginning, we were apprehensive to approach them,” she says. “They can be hesitant to engage, but we’ve found that by truly listening to them and building trust with them, they are an amazing group to work with. They have so much to teach us about their experiences and they are looking for opportunities to express their opinions. Teens are motivated to make a difference.”
Today’s teenagers, tomorrow’s young adults
In 2024, On-Site worked with 100 teenagers from Warsaw’s nine high schools on a project that spanned the entire school year. While at first the students may have just been happy to be skipping math class to explore their public space, soon they began deeply engaging with their environment.
In a survey conducted at the beginning of the project, more than 500 students aged 14-18, research found that a majority of Warsaw teenagers’ biggest dream was still to get a driver’s license, second only to their dreams of travelling the world. The results came as a surprise to Kubecka as Poland’s capital has very efficient and high-quality public transportation meaning having a car wasn’t needed for independence.
She explains, “the car still remains a symbol of freedom to the youth. Our goal was to change that perception but not by telling them what to think, but instead giving them more information about the effects of cars on the environment, air quality, public space etc.
“Reaching this group is crucial. We have to remember that today’s teenagers will soon be young adults making their first transportation decisions.”
Over the 2024 school year, the ‘Breath-in’ project led students to make their own social campaigns on their findings. “The results were more than we could have imagined,” says Kubecka. “We had a lot of media attention and students’ videos was even displayed in the metro station on a loop on a huge station screen normally used for advertising.
“We were really impressed by their ideas and creativity. Sure, we could have made our own social media campaign, but we would never have reached them the way they reached their peers.”
For many teenagers, this was their first time truly engaging with democracy in a country where public trust is low. “Many teenagers told us that this was the first time they felt truly heard by their politicians. It proved to them their voices have an impact,” adds Kubecka.
Participants of the project were inspired to take their work a step further and submit a petition to Warsaw’s mayor calling for urgent action to improve air quality in Warsaw.
Designing for future generations
Reallocate, a Horizon Europe project transforming streets into inclusive, green, safe and future-proof urban spaces, works in tandem with city leaders in Warsaw to create inclusive spaces for children.
In a recent twinning visit to Warsaw, participants explored the successfully implemented ‘school streets’ in Warsaw. School streets create calmer, safer, and more people-friendly environments around schools by limiting car access, especially during start and finish times.
The concept prioritises children’s independence, safety, and wellbeing over parking convenience or traffic flow. They free up space for walking, cycling, and socialising, while encouraging kids to be active agents of change.
With Reallocate, Kubecka’s team is in the early stages of designing a school street in the city.
“We are currently collecting input from young people, but the path to implementation is long,” she states. “The same kids who help design their school streets likely will not be the students who will use the space. They know that. They do it for their younger brothers and sisters. They do it for the next generation.”
They do it for their younger brothers and sisters. They do it for the next generation.
Get involved
Warsaw is not the only city working to make streets more inclusive for young people. The Eurocities Social Affairs and Mobility Forums invite you to a webinar showcasing three initiatives from Braga, Bologna and Utrecht that reimagine children’s mobility through walking, cycling and bus travel.
The webinar will explore how reallocating urban space and mobility services, particularly around school routes, can transform children’s daily lives by promoting autonomy and equity. These projects demonstrate how rethinking school streets and introducing child-focused mobility measures can help create safer, healthier and more inclusive neighbourhoods.
Join us 11 September from 10:00AM-12:00PM CEST. Register here.
