Empowering Urban Youth: Sports, Democracy, and Community Building

By Joshua Claxton, MURP 2024

In the ever-expanding and complex urban tapestry of the Paris metropolitan area, Sport dans la Ville is one of the primary non-profits empowering systemically marginalized youth through the most natural human activity: play. This organization, translating to ‘Sport in the City’, stands as a testament to the transformative power of sports in shaping and mobilizing youth in disenfranchised communities. This summer, I was privileged to become part of this important work within the urban tapestry, tutoring English and coaching soccer. But beyond the field and classroom, my experience resonated deeply with my academic research interests in democracy and grassroots movements.

Narratives of Resilience and Participation

During my English tutoring sessions, the stories shared by the youth were not just tales of personal ambition but were reflections of their collective visions of community power. These narratives consisted of a nuanced, boundless, and evolving set of hopes and challenges, offering a window into the counter narrative of urban youth of color, contrasted with mainstream perceptions of Parisian poverty. I believe their stories convey a need for better representation and active participation in community growth, essential principles of participatory planning in the built environment. At the same time, I understood that some youth desire to leave their communities, pursue their careers, and ensure their individual family’s economic stability.

Soccer: A Microcosm of Democratic Socialization

The field at Sport dans la Ville is not about soccer in essence. I found it to be a space where principles of democracy can emerge. Here, I witnessed inspiring and generative forms of youth socialization. We encouraged the players to engage collective decision-making and supported them in conflict resolution. This mirrored my learnings in grassroots organizing and community-based urban planning, where communal strategies, shared responsibility, and trust are paramount.

I saw empathy, consensus, and magnanimity practiced and emerging. The soccer field became a space of community organizing, nurturing democratic values that extend beyond sports.

Emergent Community Power

My time with Sport dans la Ville is ultimately not about the nominal functions being performed or the skills cultivated: English proficiency and soccer ability. It has been an exploration of how youth activities catalyze democratic values and latent forms of grassroots community power. The youth that I have had the pleasure of engaging with, and with whom I will continue to work, are wonderful spirits who possess tremendous potential to lead transformation in their communities.

Reflecting upon my experience, I’m more convinced than ever of the symbiotic relationship between informal forms of social gathering like soccer, democracy, and grassroots organizing. Sport dans la Ville is doing indispensable work towards a world vision where community planning is truly inclusive and participatory.