What if the future of your neighborhood lay in the hands of its youngest residents? Young people are everywhere in our parks, squares, and city streets — but how often do they get a real say in shaping them? Across the Balkans, youth are stepping into public spaces not just to hang out, but to shape them. Yet, their voices remain underheard, and their needs unmet.

Understanding the Process

Public spaces are vital for communities, offering young people areas to connect, play, and engage in civic life. Yet, these spaces need to be designed thoughtfully to meet the diverse needs of youth. Between July and November 2024, organisations from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia conducted a multi-level research to understand how young people aged 16–29 interact with, influence, and are affected by public spaces in their communities.

The research process involved literature reviews to map existing policies and youth strategies on the national level, calls for good practices, involving NGOs, informal groups, and public institutions on the local level, and focus groups with 200+ young people on the personal level who shared their experiences and challenges for improving public spaces. 

The finalised report examines the trends, challenges, and opportunities for youth participation in public spaces across six countries in the Balkans: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia. By analyzing the various aspects, the report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of youth engagement in public spaces and offer recommendations to enhance their involvement.

Trends of youth engagement in public spaces

The research revealed a diverse landscape of youth engagement across the six Balkan countries, each shaped by local socio-political contexts, infrastructural conditions, and levels of institutional support.

In Bulgaria and Romania, rural youth face structural barriers such as poor infrastructure and limited access to safe public spaces, while urban areas offer more opportunities but remain concentrated and unequal. Croatia and North Macedonia show active civil sectors and youth initiatives, yet policy inclusion remains limited, with institutional actors rarely integrating young people into long-term planning. In Greece, low institutional trust hampers participation, pushing youth toward informal, often temporary, initiatives. Serbia illustrates a pronounced divide, where engagement is largely dependent on the resources of the municipality, leaving less-developed areas behind. 

Across the region, young people express strong interest in contributing to public space development, but their role is often symbolic rather than strategic. Existing youth policies tend to be fragmented, underfunded, or disconnected from urban planning processes. Strengthening cross-sector collaboration, decentralizing resources, and embedding youth participation into local governance frameworks are essential steps toward meaningful and sustainable engagement.

Pathway Forward: Recommendations for the Region

The research reveals a paradox: while youth are eager to participate and innovate, the structural and cultural barriers keep them on the margins. Limited infrastructure, ineffective communication with authorities, and the absence of safe, inclusive spaces prevent meaningful engagement. Across the region, however, small but powerful examples of youth-led transformation show what’s possible when they are empowered — not just consulted.

To unlock the full potential of youth in public spaces, some recommendations could be followed:

• Bridge the Urban-Rural Divide by investing in youth-friendly infrastructure and supporting community-led initiatives in rural areas through dedicated funding and local capacity-building programs. 
• Move from Policy to Practice by empowering youth-led organizations with financial and technical support, ensuring that youth participation in public life is meaningful, not symbolic. 
• Prioritize Safety in Public Spaces through improved lighting, regular maintenance, and inclusive design processes that involve young people—especially young women—in creating safer environments. 
• Strengthen Youth Communication Channels by developing digital platforms, launching awareness campaigns, and partnering with educational institutions to promote engagement opportunities.

Youth are not just users of public spaces — they are visionaries, builders, and caretakers of tomorrow’s cities. When their voices echo through our parks, squares, and streets, we hear the pulse of a community ready to thrive. It’s time to stop designing for youth, and start building with them. 

То explore the findings please send us a request on beactive@bgbeactive.org 

Initiated by BG Be Active and backed by dedicated partner organisations from five Balkan countries, Youth Placemaking Balkans is a youth movement designed to improve youth entrepreneurship and active citizenship in the democratic processes by providing them with the relevant civic skills through creating inclusive and engaging spaces for and by young people. 

Reach out to us today to discover how you can contribute to the project, participate in our activities, or get answers to any questions you may have. Together, we are “Empowering Youth, Transforming Spaces: Uniting for Better Balkans.”