DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

During the Training conducted by UN-Habitat in collaboration with FSCP, on Women and Youth participation in urban planning and governance in Riyadh, “You Are Here”, the participants from different cities provided different recommendations regarding planning for public spaces in their cities.

Accessible public spaces are an integral part of the city’s prosperity and the wellbeing of its citizens. The women and youth who participated in the various studies highlighted the importance of having access to safe, and functioning public spaces in order to create an enabling environment. There are also calls for an overall for improvement of the conditions of public spaces, particularly public parks and green spaces. Women- and youth-specific centers are of interest to the citizens. As a result, policymakers need to:

• Increase and diversify public spaces and improve the quality of existing ones.

• Address accessibility of services in the cities to make them easily reachable to city dwellers, particularly vulnerable groups among women and youth.

• Look into investing in open spaces that can contribute to the wellbeing of citizens.

• Ensure the involvement of youth in the rehabilitation of public spaces in both urban and historical areas and strengthen the participation of youth in environmental protection.