Young People And Public Space Flashcards
How are children and young people at risk in public space?
-Cars.
-Predators, paedophiles. —> Stranger danger.
How are children and young people a risk to others in public space?
-Gang culture.
-Delinquency.
-Antisocial behaviour.
Jane Jacobs, 1961
-Children exercise and amuse themselves through various outdoor activities and it is not in the nature of things to make a big deal out of these activities. (E.G. puddles, writing with chalk, roller skating).
-As children get older ‘outdoor play’ entails more loitering, sizing people up, flirting, pushing and shoving which adolescents are criticised for.
-Argues that young people can’t grow up without this type of outdoor activity and that the trouble comes when it is done as a form of outlaw life rather than within society.
The street as playground
-In history, adults would leave their children outside the pub.
-Children playing out on the street becomes less and less because adults are more concerned for children’s safety.
Martha Cooper, 1977-1980 children’s play in New York:
-Lots of kids playing on the streets.
-Lots of raw materials that children could use to do all sorts of creative things. E.G. sticks and rubbish.
-Dangerous activities that their parents wouldn’t want them to do. E.G. jumping from fire escapes onto a pile of mattresses, riding on the back of a bus.
-Children’s play can be seen as risky play and we want to minimise risks.
Young People At Risk: Gill Valentine (2004) Public Space and the Culture of Childhood
-Public space given over to the car. To create space for cars the pavements get smaller.
-Privatisation of children’s play. Becomes more organised and becomes more indoor play.
-Battery-reared = children playing inside on technology etc. // Free-range = children playing outside.
-Risk assessments for children. —> Stranger danger. —> Risk may be very small percentages but the consequences are so unthinkable that risk assessments are used.
-Children are constructed as ‘vulnerable’ and ‘innocent’ in public spaces but statistically are more at risk in private space from people that they know.
-Parents consider abduction the greatest danger for children (45%) followed by traffic accidents (34%), drugs (9%) and accidents in the home (1%).
-Parents perceive children are most likely to be abducted by adult strangers (63%), rather than adults known to the child (16%) or estranged parents (10%).
Young People At Risk: James Bulger, 1993
-2 year old boy abducted, tortured and murdered by two 10 year olds. Sexual assault.
Young People At Risk: Sarah Payne, 2000
-8 years old.
-Victim of abduction and murder. Body found 17 days after abduction.
-Case resulted in changes to child protection laws in the UK.
Young People At Risk: Milly Dowler, 2002
-Missing for nearly 6 months before her remains were found in a woods.
Young People At Risk In the Media
-The way that the media feature violent crimes and crimes against children make it seem more prevalent than it is. (Roberts eat al., 2002).
-Unusual cases are more high profile.
-Exaggerated level of risk.
-Can lead to a moral panic. (Cohen).
Young People At Risk: Precautionary Principle
-Risk may be low, but consequences of it happening are serious.
-Precautionary principle. Better safe than sorry.
but
-Impact on children’s play.
-Impact on children and young people in public spaces. —> As more children and young people are withdrawn from public space, those who are left are seen as a risk.
Young People As Risk
-Barry Goldson (1997) —> “The demonisation of children has provided a new enemy within.”
-Dispersal orders used against “presence” as well as “behaviour.” —> Crime and Disorder Act of 1998 introduced Dispersal Orders put in place because of the presence of people perceived to be a problem as much as a response to the actual behaviour. Because groups are present in an area, they might not be doing anything illegal but they are still seen as a danger. Dispersed the groups. This wasn’t stated to be used against young people, but young people were predominantly at the receiving end of this legislation.
-Risk calculation and risk management. —> Links to risk society. If you’re trying to create safer neighbourhoods, you are thinking through future risks.
-A “shift from treating individuals to targeting and managing specific categories of people.” (Muncie et al., 2002:41). —> Managing behaviour based on people’s category. Leads to all young people being seen as a risk in public space.
-Are some groups of young people more likely to be targeted? —> E.G. The working class and Black and Minority Ethnic people. —> Those in power see these as problematic populations.
Young People As Risk in the Media
-Media stories of children as a risk.
-Flip side of James Bulger case focusing on the two perpetrators.
-Demonising of children and young people.
-Stereotyping of youth and race.
Young People As Risk or At Risk
-Could extend to people who have alternative uses for public space, different ideas about what public space is for.
-E.G. Graffiti, street art, skateboarding.
What Are Contested Spaces?
-E.G. Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. —> A site for skateboarders. Seen as a controlled, safe space for skateboarding in this area. —> Become a tourist attraction. People go there to see the skateboarders.
-Is problematic for people to skateboard in the shopping streets or down the high street?
-People have different ideas and stereotype about the people who participate in this pastime.
-People have different ideas about what this space is for.
-Are there groups that are seen as a danger which prevent people from hanging around the shopping streets and spending their money?
But Not Always So Innocent?
-Teenagers doing wheelies in the middle of the road disrupting traffic.
-Wearing hoodies, smoking or doing drugs.
-Burning out cars.
-If play is not seen as innocent, it is automatically assumed to be problematic.
-People associate certain styles of clothes and groups of young people with problematic behaviour. —> Can lead to them feeling intimidated on the streets.
