Our city, our world

Early one cold February morning, Pete Williams ’03 asked a third grade class at Saville Elementary School an important question: “What’s in your neighborhood?” The students shot their hands in the air, quick to share their favorite park, the library and their home with their pets and family.

Williams is the mayor of Riverside, Ohio, a community just outside Dayton. He and his colleagues Nía Holt ’14 and Taryn Smith ’24 went to Saville to share their passion for city planning as a career and inspire children to think more about where they live.

“We always hear about how the job market is changing, how there’s not enough people coming up in a number of fields. Well, the best way to change that is to go to the next generation and tell them about the field you’re in and make it fun,” Holt said.

“We’re showing them that they have a voice, and empowering that voice, so they can make an impactful change in their community.”

These class visits are part of a new program created by Holt, Riverside community development director, aptly titled, It’s Your City, It’s Your World. She said she was inspired to engage youth after working with community members on a plan for the city’s goals for the future. Smith, Riverside community development technician, helped co-ordinate the events with Saville and three other elementary schools in the Mad River Local School District.

After a short in-class lesson on city planning and its effect on students’ day-to-day lives — like making sure a playground doesn’t have a dumpster in the middle of it — the third graders created their own Riverside.

Armed with a map of the city and lots of stickers, students did not hesitate. One student suggested putting a candy factory next to a candy store. Another put a park near a neighborhood. Every student had something to say about where things should go.

“I want these kids empowered to ask questions, to learn about something that might be seen as boring and sterile, like zoning,” Williams said. “Zoning affects what kind of park you’re going to have in your neighborhood, how walkable it will be, and the quality of the air and schools.”

It may be a coincidence that Williams, Holt and Smith are all UD grads working on a project like this. Or it may be the result of how deeply rooted in community Flyers really are.

“There’s an attitude from UD that you should be involved, not you could if you want to,” Williams said. “Before I became mayor, I had never run for office before, and I think a lot of folks — whether it’s at the local, state or federal level — think, ‘well, I can never do that.’ These kids are redesigning a whole city— they’re 8 years old. So yes, yes you can. Yes, you should.”

photos by Sylia Stahl

________________________________________________________________________________________

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2025 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 55. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE