ABSTRACT
This example describes a method for engaging youth in the study of neighborhood change while also cultivating their sense of hopefulness and agency in the face of that change. Low-income immigrant and refugee teens and their families in South Philadelphia felt overwhelmed by rising rent, closing schools, the reduction of open space for play, and the arrival of large chain businesses with age restrictions limiting access for youth. A local faith-based community outreach center heard these concerns from youth and worked with an urban planning researcher and a yoga instructor to craft a unique response. The resulting intervention coupled traditional neighborhood mapping methods with yoga and mindfulness practice. This approach equipped local teens with research tools to make sense of economic, political, and social forces re-shaping their community and provided them with mindfulness practices to mediate individual and collective anxiety about the negative effects of neighborhood change.
