奥丑别苍鈥�&苍产蝉辫;(GUB) began in 2009, its goal was to empower鈥痽oung people to influence the local issues which affected their lives. For the past 12 years the program was a part of CU 麻豆影院's鈥� Community Engagement, Design and Research鈥� (CEDaR) Center. Now one of the most鈥痵uccessful child-friendly city initiatives in the world, it's being spun off as an independent nonprofit under the fiscal sponsorship of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.

鈥淕rowing Up 麻豆影院鈥痺ill continue its deep partnership with CU 麻豆影院 as it evolves during its next phase," said 鈥�Mara Mintzer, GUB's director. "It 鈥痝rew from鈥痑 strong foundation in academia, and the鈥� students and faculty have been key to its success." 

The relationship between CEDaR and GUB is a model for how the university can develop, nurture and then spin off nonprofit activities, says Brian Muller, associate professor and CEDaR director.

鈥淕rowing Up 麻豆影院 began as a service-based research project and evolved into a program that is now more deeply embedded in the community than the university," Muller says. 鈥淚t will continue as a CEDaR affiliate with more flexibility to raise money and cultivate new relationships to expand its programs. Spinning it off strengthens GUB and benefits all its partners."

Over the years GUB grew to become one of the most鈥痵uccessful child-friendly city initiatives in the world. Some of GUB's鈥痩argest successes include Mintzer's鈥� 2018 TED Talk 鈥�," viewed 2.3 million times and translated into 21 languages;鈥� GUB鈥檚 鈥渃hild-friendly city map project,鈥� which brought together more than 30鈥痮rganizations and 700 young people to create the nation鈥檚 first printed, bilingual map designed by kids for kids; and the award-winning book, "Placemaking With Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities," co-authored by GUB founders and faculty.鈥� 

University roots
In December 2008 Growing Up 麻豆影院 was conceived by David Driskell, director of community planning and sustainability for the city of 麻豆影院, and Willem van Vliet, CU 麻豆影院 professor (emeritus) and CEDaR fellow, as an effort to make 麻豆影院 one of the nation鈥檚 first child-friendly cities, recognizing鈥痶he rights and interests of children in local policy, law, programs and budgets as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Louise Chawla, CU 麻豆影院 professor (emerita) and CEDaR fellow, was also formative in GUB鈥檚 development. 

GUB formally launched in the spring of 2009 through an MOU鈥痓etween CU鈥槎褂霸�, the city of 麻豆影院鈥痑nd the 麻豆影院 Valley School District, working in partnership with local nonprofits, businesses, and many participating children and youth. 鈥疘ts overall goal was to bring about a culture change so that youth participation in local affairs would no longer be extraordinary, but mainstream and routine.鈥疓UB鈥痗reated鈥痯rogramming that helped local youth provide critical input on matters of city planning, education, sustainability, social justice and human rights. It supported a new generation of civic leaders, who tangibly improve their communities by sharing recommendations for city and community design and decision-making. 

• Contributed to key city planning guidelines and policies, including seven鈥痬aster plans for open space and mountain parks, resilient cities, and transportation, and more. 

• Engaged more than 6,000 麻豆影院 area kids on more than 100 city and community projects. Many program participants work with GUB for three鈥痬onths or more. 

• Upheld an internal standard to ensure that at least 50 percent of participating program children and youth are from historically marginalized groups. 

• Worked with more than 60 local and county partners to support hundreds of ideation sessions, after-school enrichments, and community engagement events. 

• Widely cited academic book chapters and journal articles. 

• Keynote addresses at national and international conferences. 

• Local, national, and international media coverage. 

• Training, lectures, and consulting sessions for many global partners, ranging from government staff and elected officials, young people, educators鈥痑nd academics. 

GUB has been a part of CEDaR and housed in the Program for Environmental Design for about 12 years, working in the context of an overall CEDaR philosophy that focuses on partnerships with city governments and community organizations; participatory action research;鈥� interdisciplinary collaboration across campus; integrated research by undergraduates, graduate students and faculty; and engagement with low-income and minority populations.鈥� 

Joint CEDaR and GUB initiatives include the鈥�Hill Redevelopment Project, a three-year effort to build engagement among the varied voices in development policy on the Hill. During this project, GUB worked with a Flatirons Elementary鈥� fourth-grade class鈥痶o develop ideas to make the 11th Street Corridor a fun and safer鈥痯lace for people of all ages. In another joint CEDaR effort to develop innovative urban design for manufactured housing communities,鈥疓UB engaged鈥痺ith the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park community to encourage brainstorming with children and parents around the design of green spaces, playgrounds and safety, as well as adding new amenities to the park.     

In addition, CEDaR provided the GUB partnership with services鈥痠ncluding office space and fiscal, computer, human resources and communications support; staff oversight; and management of joint projects and MOUs.  

GUB's evolution into a new phase will be celebrated at a  on May 4.  

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