Creating welcoming parks for teenage girls
Make Space York is a community-led project reimagining public spaces so that teenage girls feel they belong. Since 2021, we’ve worked with over 350 girls across York to understand what makes parks feel safe, welcoming and a place they want to be.
As girls’ enter their teenage years their use of parks drops, compared to boys. Many girls state there is nothing for them to do in parks – citing that the sports facilities created ‘for teenagers’ are not what they want or facilities they would use. 90% of the uses of such facilities in parks are male – and it’s not that girls can’t use the space, but it’s just that many won’t. We should of course address the barriers girls face but we should also not assume what they want in their parks.
The project began in Rowntree Park, where linked to the Friends of Rowntree Park, we conducted surveys, ran focus groups and creative workshops, walks and conversations with girls aged 10–18 to explore how they use the park and what would make it feel more inviting.
From this engagement came a shared vision for a new co-created area – a space designed around socialising, movement and play, with equipment chosen by girls themselves. Fundraising is ongoing to complete their vision.
The girls wanted a social space where they could be active, but without competition. A place to swing and chat, climb and move. Location was key – near enough to people, paths, toilets and gates but also set back enough to not be ‘watched’ and where they felt they could be themselves.
The first phase of the ‘Make Space Area’ was installed in Rowntree Park in May 2024, enabled by patch work funding. In July 2026 the area was completed with additional equipment added. The space includes communal swing, hammocks, climbing equipment, varied seating and roll bars. In addition to equipment the location of the equipment was important for those who fed into the project. You can read more about the co-creating of the space in Rowntree Park here.
In addition to a co created area, based on the girls’ views – Make Space York launched an annual Festival of Free Events in 2023, bringing hundreds of girls together in Rowntree Park and Homestead Park each summer.
The festival is a mix of sports and exercise, arts and crafts, social awareness, nature and wellbeing and much more. A range of free activities designed to help girls try new things, meet new people and take up space. The annual festival attracts over 350 girls and hosts 40+ events. All the events are free for girls to attend and are aimed at ages 10-18, with some suited to ages 8+.
The Make Space York Festival
Find out more about the festival by visiting the page
The Make Space York Report
Read the ‘Make Space York’ report below – a summary of the project 2021-25
A guide to creating parks that work for teenage girls
This guide is aimed at anyone useful working with parks and public space. It brings together a few years of learning from the Make Space York project, alongside a growing body of work, case studies and ideas emerging across the UK. This is designed as a practical guide, not an academic one. Something that can be picked up, dipped into and used in real situations.
It’s for anyone involved in shaping public space, including local authorities, landscape architects and urban designers, park managers, developers, councillors and community organisations.
The aim is simple -to help create parks that feel more welcoming, inclusive and relevant for teenage girls, a group that is still often overlooked in design and decision making.
The guide includes:
- insights from engagement with teenage girls
- case studies showing how their input has shaped real change
- examples of physical improvements to parks across the UK
- practical ideas that can be applied in different contexts
Access the guide here
The guide is an evolving document – additions will be made. I’m also working on a Tool Kit to accompany the guide.
The Make Space York project has also included a range of creative projects to help raise awareness of the issues surrounding teenage girls and parks and the need to make public spaces more welcoming to older girls and women.
Over the May bank holiday weekend 2025, the ‘Make Space’ exhibition was hosted at Spark in York. This featured national and local research and good practice, that sat along side photography exhibitions ‘Seen and Heard’ and ‘Teenage Play’ that were created in conjunction with photographer Bec Hudson Smith. In addition, the ‘Chains’ project, led by illustrator Lucy Monkman was a powerful display that utilised girls own self portraits. Elements of the exhibition were also part of York Festival of Ideas, and we continue to look to creative ways to both engage teenage girls and to highlight their views, ideas and experiences. Read more about the exhibition here.