{"684029":{"#nid":"684029","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Youth Look to Transform Communities Through Civic Technologies","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYoung people in Atlanta and Boston will be able to lead efforts to improve their communities through new civic technologies supported by Georgia Tech, Northeastern University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the help of a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the three institutions seek to increase youth input into policymaking and encourage youth-led community organizing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYouth-designed civic technologies are an effective way to engage youth with their communities, said Andrea Parker, an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExamples of civic technologies are public data initiatives, citizen science projects, public issue reporting platforms, and digital voting platforms. Parker said the perspectives of young people are often neglected in the design of such technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe don\u2019t know much about what community issues are important to youth because we haven\u2019t asked them,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat is their vision for community well-being, and what do they want to address through civic technology?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker is the lead principal investigator (PI) on the project that will engage youth from low socio-economic communities in Atlanta and Boston. She said the youth will decide what technologies will be created, but they could include a mobile app or a publicly accessible platform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re interested in studying how technologies can help youth become more civically engaged in their communities and build social connection, trust, and belonging amongst neighbors,\u201d she said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYouth in lower-income neighborhoods face increased threats to their mental health. Socially cohesive communities can counteract those barriers and are essential for youth well-being.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker added that impoverished communities often have less social cohesion compare to wealthier areas. Higher-income neighborhoods often have more access to resources that support social cohesion and civic engagement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBacked by Data\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrooke Foucault Welles, co-PI, professor, and interim dean at Northeastern\u2019s College of Media, Arts and Design, said she\u2019s interested in seeing which issues the youths from both Atlanta and Boston will address through their design process. Studying and working with youth across these geographic settings will help the team identify how civic technology can best support youth in varied neighborhood contexts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project will also advance data literacy among young people as they collect and study data to support the new technologies. Welles said data-centered advocacy increases young people\u2019s chances of being heard by elder community members.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEmpowering young people to use data when they\u2019re making their arguments about what matters to them and to their communities is the point of this project,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes their arguments more compelling if they can present data to the adult members of their communities about what\u2019s going on.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s reach could expand beyond Atlanta and Boston.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce the technologies are designed, the researchers will package them and make them publicly available as a toolkit.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf successful, the project could drive a movement toward more collective organizing to ensure the youth perspective gets factored into community decision-making.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey\u2019re a vital part of our communities, and they\u2019re the ones for whom our decisions have the biggest impact,\u201d Welles said. \u201cThese are the times when they\u2019re forming their own civic identities, so engaging them in civic life has long ripple effects. We create more active and thoughtful citizens when we engage young people with civic life.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech, Northeastern University, and MIT are partnering on a $1.25 million National Science Foundation project to help young people in underserved communities design civic technologies that address local challenges. The initiative will work with youth in Atlanta and Boston to create tools such as mobile apps and data platforms that promote civic engagement and community improvement. The project centers youth vocies in the design process to empower them to \u0026nbsp;take an active role in shaping their communities.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Through a $1.25 million NSF Grant, Georgia Tech, Northeastern University, and MIT are empowering youth from underserved Atlanta and Boston communities to lead community transformation and bolster civice engagement."}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2025-08-21 12:12:57","changed_gmt":"2025-08-21 12:18:53","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-08-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677759":{"id":"677759","type":"image","title":"Andrea-Parker_86A1007.jpg","body":null,"created":"1755778471","gmt_created":"2025-08-21 12:14:31","changed":"1755778471","gmt_changed":"2025-08-21 12:14:31","alt":"Andrea Parker","file":{"fid":"261694","name":"Andrea-Parker_86A1007.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/21\/Andrea-Parker_86A1007.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/21\/Andrea-Parker_86A1007.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":90186,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/21\/Andrea-Parker_86A1007.jpg?itok=SAk_7gbr"}}},"media_ids":["677759"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"40351","name":"civic engagement"},{"id":"175125","name":"civic tech"},{"id":"75261","name":"Youth"},{"id":"188933","name":"Atlanta community."},{"id":"194701","name":"go-resarchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}