Youth-driven database propels Canadian research, recovery

By Claire Patterson

A new open-source database has officially launched, offering a unique perspective: the data is completely youth driven. The Pivot Hub, with over 23,000 data points, aims to propel research in Canada and comes as governments look to re-envision cities through COVID-19 recovery plans.  

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 78 per cent of young people surveyed used public transit in their city. During COVID-19, youth ridership dropped to 23 per cent, according to hub data. The statistic is an example of the information in the hub’s datasets, which includes cost of living, civic engagement, climate action and public green spaces. The data, collected in 27 Canadian cities, shows how the pandemic has affected the lives of the country’s young.

The Pivot Hub is the outcome of a youth urban research program, Pivot 2020. It employed more than 1,100 young people and was led by Robert Barnard, a fellow with SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The Pivot Hub’s goal is to be used by young people, communities, planners, organizations and governments. Decision-makers can use of the data in the hub to strengthen youth concerns, inform policy and shape an equitable future for Canadian cities.

“Data analysis is an intricate and beautiful process in which we invoke a string of voices, highlight challenges and successes of the communities that we stand connected to,” says Freshta Ahmadzai, SFU alumnus and data analysis coordinator for the Pivot Hub. “It can be the match that enables youth to reinvent social relations that elevate their communities and the people in them. Therefore, it remains our privilege to reveal and connect the unheard and unseen.”

Amongst the youth team are 101 SFU co-op students who spent time on the program over the fall and winter.

The data is downloadable in a variety of formats such as through indexing to display city performance, surveying to capture attitudes and interviews which include both transcripts and quotations from participants.

Pivot Hub shows the power of youth in leading a recovery and path towards a just future in data and in our cities across Canada.