The Green Cities project addresses the increasing need for new digitally supported, more accessible and open-source methods of activation, learning and participation of learners (e.g. young people) in non-formal learning settings on current and important future topics of urban change, sustainable development and climate change. The aim of the Green Cities project is to activate, promote and transfer knowledge through participatory learning to strengthen climate protection as a goal in urban development and to reach new and previously less represented groups due to socio-economic factors (e.g. lower income, lower level of education) with new activating methods in the field of non-formal education in urban districts and superdiverse cities. In order to achieve this goal, experts from the fields of social work, cultural work, integration work, youth work, special education, neighborhood and district management, etc. are trained in the implementation of new methods and instruments and act as multipliers for new participatory methods of environmental and climate awareness in urban development.
In 2019, while the global climate movement reached its highest number of participants, a survey of participants in the climate protests in Berlin and Bremen revealed that only around 5 percent of protesters had a middle school degree or less. Over 85% of participants stated they had a high school diploma or had already finished university. 4.5 percent of those taking part in the activities stated that they belong to the working class, over 40 percent to the upper middle class and 25 percent to the middle class. The socio-economic background appears to be crucial in determining whether and in what form young adults and youth participate in one of the most important topics of their own future. Of course, there could be many individual and personal reasons for not taking part in climate protests, but socio-economic background should be the last. Meanwhile climate protection and sustainability become more and more important in planning and development in rural areas and urban spaces. Green Cities address this by training people in participatory methods to provide better access to issues of climate change and sustainability to all people (e.g. with lower income, lower education grades) in their living environment.