Children, Youth and the City

257 Pages·2012·1.733 MB·English

by  Kathrin Hörschelmann and Lorraine van Blerk

Children, Youth and
the City
Kathrin Hörschelmann
and
Lorraine van Blerk
Routledge Critical Introductions to Urbanism and the City
Children, Youth
and the City
More than half of the global and around 80 per cent of the Western population grow
up in cities. This text provides a vivid picture of children and youth in the city, how
they make sense of it and how they appropriate it through their social actions.
Considering the causes and forms of social inequalities in relation to class, gen-
der, ethnicity, sexuality, ability and geographical location, this book discusses
specific issues such as poverty, homelessness and work. Each chapter draws on
examples from both the Global North and South, and throughout the chapters,
the book:
● contrasts experiences of growing up in the city
● discusses how social inequalities, together with societal perceptions of
childhood and youth, shape experiences of growing up in cities for differ-
ent young people
● examines how young people appropriate the city through social and cul-
tural practices
● considers contemporary movements towards the role of children and youth
in planning processes.
Children, Youth and the City argues that young people must be recognised as
urban social agents in their own right. This informative book deals with com-
plex theoretical arguments and relates key ideas to this topical subject in a
clear and coherent manner. The text is enlivened throughout with global case
studies, photographs, discussion questions, suggested reading and websites. It
is an excellent resource for students of Human Geography, Urban Studies and
Childhood Studies.
Kathrin Hörschelmann is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the
University of Durham, UK.
Lorraine van Blerk is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University
of Dundee, UK.
Routledge critical introductions to urbanism and the city
Edited by Malcolm Miles, University of Plymouth, UK
and John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, USA
International Advisory Board:
Franco Bianchini Jane Rendell
Kim Dovey Saskia Sassen
Stephen Graham David Sibley
Tim Hall Erik Swyngedouw
Phil Hubbard Elizabeth Wilson
Peter Marcuse
The series is designed to allow undergraduate readers to make sense of, and
find a critical way into, urbanism. It will:
● cover a broad range of themes
● introduce key ideas and sources
● allow the author to articulate her/his own position.
● introduce complex arguments clearly and accessibly
● bridge disciplines, and theory and practice
● be affordable and well designed
The series covers social, political, economic, cultural and spatial concerns. It
will appeal to students in architecture, cultural studies, geography, popular
culture, sociology, urban studies, urban planning. It will be transdisciplinary.
Firmly situated in the present, it also introduces material from the cities of
modernity and postmodernity.
Published:
Cities and Consumption – Mark Jayne
Cities and Cultures – Malcolm Miles
Cities and Nature – Lisa Benton-Short and John Rennie Short
Cities and Economies – Yeong-Hyun Kim and John Rennie Short
Cities and Cinema – Barbara Mennel
Cities and Gender – Helen Jarvis with Paula Kantor & Jonathan Cloke
Cities and Design – Paul L. Knox
Cities, Politics and Power – Simon Parker
Cities and Sexualities – Phil Hubbard
Children, Youth and the City – Kathrin Hörshelmann and Lorraine van Blerk
Forthcoming:
Cities and Climate Change – Harriet A. Bulkeley
Cities and Photography – Jane Tormey
Cities, Risk and Disaster – Christine Wamsler
Children, Youth
and the City
Kathrin Hörschelmann
and Lorraine van Blerk
First published 2012
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2012 Kathrin Hörschelmann and Lorraine van Blerk
The right of Kathrin Hörschelmann and Lorraine van Blerk to be identified
as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hörschelmann, Kathrin, 1971-
Children, youth and the city / Kathrin Hörschelmann and Lorraine van Blerk.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Children--Social conditions. 2. Youth--Social conditions. 3. City and
town life. 4. Sociology, Urban. I. Van Blerk, Lorraine II. Title.
HQ767.9.H67 2011
305.2309173’2--dc23
ISBN: 978-0-415-37693-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-37692-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-96756-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman by
GreenGate Publishing Services, Tonbridge, Kent
To our children

Contents
List of figures viii
List of boxes x
Acknowledgements xii
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Imagining children and youth in the city 6
Chapter 3 The causes and effects of social inequalities
on children and youth in the city 41
Chapter 4 Growing up in the city 82
Chapter 5 Globalisation and youth culture 123
Chapter 6 Participation and active citizenship in the city 157
Chapter 7 Conclusion 197
References 204
Index 232
Figures
2.1 The angelic child. Baroque statue, Potsdam, Germany 15
2.2 St Peter’s poor school, near Darlington, UK 17
2.3 Sign outside main station, Potsdam, Germany 28
2.4 Example 1: street life in Kampala, Uganda 36
2.5 Example 2: Bob’s (15) map of street life in Kampala 37
3.1 Gentrification in Berlin, Germany 46
3.2 Gentrification in Cape Town, South Africa 46
3.3 Playground in a wealthy part of San Francisco, US 47
3.4 Poverty in Uganda 55
3.5 Children working as buskers in Gdansk, Poland 62
3.6 Market work, Malawi 63
3.7 Head loading, Malawi 64
3.8 La Nina, Mexico/US border 73
3.9 Journeys to the street 74
3.10 Gambling, Uganda 75
3.11 Street children in Uganda 76
3.12 Street children in South Africa 76
4.1 High-rise development in Leipzig, Germany 93
4.2 Squatter housing in Ethiopia 95
4.3 ‘The lines’: rented housing in Lesotho 97
4.4 ‘Nature play’ in the city, San Francisco, US 101
4.5 Community Garden, Berlin, Germany 102
4.6 Sandpit in a Bogota park 103
4.7 Commercial play centre, UK 105
4.8 Playing in the streets, Malawi 110
4.9 Playing in the streets, Islamabad 111
4.10 Meeting friends by the lakes, Leipzig, Germany 112
4.11 Playing in the suburban street, Leipzig, Germany 113
Figures (cid:129) ix
5.1 Young shoppers, UK 130
5.2 Skateboarder in Leipzig, Germany 139
5.3 Skateboarder in Karlskrona, Sweden 139
5.4 Graffiti in Montpellier, France 145
5.5 Sanctioned graffiti: commissioned wall painting in Leipzig,
Germany 147
5.6 Amusement park, South Africa 148
6.1 Participatory exercise, Malawi 161
6.2 The ladder of participation 165
6.3 Mental map, Obstacle Race Plymouth, UK 166
6.4 Self-directed photography, Obstacle Race Plymouth, UK 167
6.5 Mental map produced as part of participatory exercise,
17-year-old Ugandan boy 171
6.6 Slum area in Cape Town, South Africa 179
6.7 Play area in an inner city neighbourhood of Groningen,
The Netherlands 191