Culture as the intermediary

The City of Aarhus (DK) has been testing the method of including young people in the redevelopment of empty buildings since 2013. By working with physical temporary use, for instance an empty municipal building the future use of which has yet to be determined, the city is forced to continually rethink the involvement of citizens, format and content in relation to its development. The method has been applied successfully to a youth community centre. A place has been created for people aged 15-25, who organise themselves through a management group and monthly public youth council meetings. The method can be applied to other areas, where citizen and civil society involvement in the solution of social challenges is desired.