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The use of public space by young people: implications for environmental design and management

(Henry Shaftoe, UWE, May 2002)

We mostly dislike young people in the United Kingdom. We call them names (eg: yobbos, vandals, thugs, tearaways) that we wouldn’t dare call any other segment of the population. They are often seen as being "guilty before proven innocent", as in the case of "threatening gangs of youths gathering in public spaces".

The standard strategic response to groups of young people in public or communal areas is to try to force them out – either by moving them on (police, security guards, CCTV), threatening them with penalties (eg: the £50 fine for skateboarding in College Green, Bristol), or removing the opportunities for them to gather (eg: the removal of seating in the shopping mall above Birmingham New Street Station).

But the phenomenon of young people socialising in groups away from immediate adult supervision is an important developmental stage; moving from the family nest to independent adulthood. We should be enabling this healthy socialisation process to happen by ensuring that there are places and spaces where youngsters can gather and "hang out". And young people don’t want to be shunted in to the margins of neighbourhoods - they usually and rightly demand equal access to the prime sites such as town centres, parks, high streets and malls.

Young people gather in what are seen by adults as inappropriate places because we do not provide appropriate places. So where are they meant to gather? Homes have got smaller. Youth Clubs have been cut back. Members of the public call the police if youths gather at bus shelters, in unlit parks or outside shops at night.

We need to start with young people’s needs - they are citizens just as much as adults are. If you ask young people they will tell you what they want and they will often be keen to get involved in providing services and facilities: "Young people these days – they’ll take anything, especially responsibility".

They are likely to want both structured and unstructured facilities and activities. Different groups and individuals will want different things. One size does not fit all. You can’t just have one youth club open a couple of nights a week until 9 pm and one skateboard ramp and assume you have fulfilled your obligations to youth.

Some imaginative solutions to the need for young people to gather in public/communal spaces include:

Youth cafe - Nairn, Scotland (above). A top quality high street café; run on a non profit basis with counselling and advice on tap but not imposed.

Dufferin Mall – Toronto, Canada (above). Youths are encouraged to use the mall and facilities are provided for them, by an enlightened management who realised that excluding troublesome gangs was merely displacing problems to the immediate surroundings.

Youth shelters and sports systems . These consist of good quality structures where young people can gather without supervision. It is best if young people have been involved in their design and installation.

If we don’t respond positively, inclusively and creatively to the needs of young people to socialise in public spaces, they will still socialise, but in much more devious, deviant and unhealthy ways.

Bibliography:

Hampshire R and Wilkinson M (2002) Youth Shelters and Sports Systems – a good practice guide. (second edition) Thames Valley Police.

Waiton S (2001) Scared of the Kids? – Curfews, crime and the regulation of young people. Sheffield Hallam University, School of Cultural Studies.