Paper short abstract:

We seek to show how participatory approaches such as participatory mapping can help engage young people from peripheral communities in developing a local socio-environmental diagnosis and also in mapping complex issues that are not obvious at first, such as the right to the city.

Paper long abstract:

This research presents the results of a participatory research conducted in the vulnerable neighborhood of Novo Recreio, city of Guarulhos, Brazil, more precisely the application of participatory mapping as an instrument to diagnose access to basic resources such as water, energy and food. The main objective of this research was to make an initial diagnosis of the neighborhood involving adolescents and discussing the infrastructure and access to basic resources. But this paper proposes a deeper analysis of what else is possible to map. Besides evaluating the local urban infrastructure and mapping tangible elements like those mentioned, the vulnerability situation of the neighborhood shows hidden and complex problems behind it all. The situation of the local streets, which are not paved, for example, affects the mobility, and therefore the autonomy, of young local residents, which also reflects their right to the city. Other mapped elements connect to violence or lack of hope. Thus, this research seeks to engage young people in local participatory mapping, seeking to bring to light complex issues such as autonomy, violence, geographical and social exclusion, and consequently, the right to the city of peripheral youth, mapping elements that are not visible at first but intrisically related. We also recommend future actions for the participation of young people in the planning of their neighborhoods, in order to improve the quality and the multilayerd perspectives of their lives, and engaging on the topic of community-based social learning approaches.