Young People,
Participation and
Public Space
Presentation to Youth in Local
Government Conference,
Children’s Issues Centre,
University of Otago, July 2004.
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Overall PhD Research
Aim
• To identify and provide a model of the
connection between young people, public
space and citizenship through an
interrogation of T.H. Marshall’s (1950)
theory of social citizenship, an extensive
review of literature and action research.
• Study Title: Young People, Public Space &
Citizenship
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Setting the scene…………….
* Young people are major users of public space,
White (1990,1998) Loader (1996).
* Young people are constructed as ‘problem’ and
‘non citizens’, Brown (1998).
* Young people report feeling unconsulted, not
part of community life, Measor & Squires
(2000), Article 12 (2000), Tyler et al (1998).
* Young people and citizenship/participation is a
major issue.
* Public Space issues affect others also such as
the homeless, aged, women, Indigenous
people and people of middle eastern
appearance.
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Key Research Objectives
• Identify and establish the conceptual
relationship between young people, public
space and social citizenship.
• Investigate social citizenship/participation
as it relates to young people.
• Develop a theoretical model of young
people’s social citizenship which locates
rights to public space within an expansive
concept of social citizenship/participation.
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Outline of Research Method,
Methodology and Approach
• Place young people aged 14-25 at the
centre of the action research process,
using a modified Grounded Theory
approach.
• Work with small groups to develop the
survey instrument and map concepts of
lived experience of public space and
community participation.
• Reflect on and evaluate outcomes of
each stage in research process, taking
findings into the next stage.
• Conduct questionnaire with young
people in Brisbane, Logan and
Dunedin.
• Conduct data analysis, feedback
findings to interested participants.
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Stages in the action research process
One:
Conduct semistructured
conversations
with young
people.
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Two:
Conduct focus
group work with
young people,
using
mental/physical
mapping to
raise public
space issues.
Draft pilot
questionnaire.
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Three:
Test pilot
questionnaire
with young
people of the
Dunedin Youth
Forum, reflect
on and evaluate
with
respondents;
review and
finalise survey
instrument with
Logan City
Youth Council
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Stages in the action research process
Four:
Conduct full
questionnaire
with various
groups of
young people
in educational
settings in
Brisbane and
Logan areas,
to include
state & private
high schools.
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Five:
Conduct grounded
theory data
analysis and
interpretation for
PhD thesis chapter
content.
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Six:
Discuss data
results and give
feedback to
participant
young people
as, and if,
required.
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Theoretical Framework
• A selection of critical material
drawn from the following bodies of
theory informs the work and
contributes to the theoretical and
methodological framework of the
study:
• Citizenship/Participation Theory
• Public Space Theory
• Theories of Youth
• Grounded Theory
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Theoretical Framework:
Citizenship/Participation Theory
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Civil, political and social citizenship.
Social citizenship/social rights.
Social exclusion/inclusion.
Citizenships of difference/marginality.
Citizenship education for ‘active
citizenship’.
Communitarian citizenshipparticipation.
Multiple citizenships.
Human rights.
Liberal citizenship-rights & duties.
Radical citizenship-citizenship &
democracy.
Governance.
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Theoretical Framework:
Public Space Theory
• Urban design
ideology/priorities/trends.
• Contested space.
• Spatial politics.
• Consumption space.
• Public/private space.
• Surveillance.
• Curfews and other control
measures.
• Gated/walled communities.
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Theoretical Framework:
Theories of Youth
• Constructions of youth.
• Youth as hope of the nation,
vulnerable, threat.
• Lifestyles.
• Life-course patterns/transitions.
• Youth identity/identities.
• Social Participation.
• Child & youth rights.
• Gender issues.
• Race issues.
• Social inclusion/exclusion.
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Theoretical Framework: Research Methodology
Grounded Theory
• An approach to the collection, analysis and
ordering of research data where new theory
emerges from the data, rather than from literature.
• This is preferable within the overall aims of action
research, to a situation where pre-existing theory
shapes and directs the data and the results of the
research effort.
• The Grounded Theory approach starts with Glaser
& Strauss (1967), then there is Strauss & Corbin
(1990) and Glaser (1992).
• This approach allows research data to reflect and
illuminate the full weight of the lived experience of
the young people at the centre of the research
process, which might otherwise not happen.
• The research method is a self-completion survey
instrument or questionnaire, to collect data from the
1200 participant young people aged 14-25, from
state & private high schools, QUT, community
groups and Queensland Police Service recruits.
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The survey- questions 1-5
• 1. As a young person do you feel that
you are negatively stereotyped by
people in the wider community?
• 2. Do you think there are enough youth
facilities in your area?
• 3. How involved do you feel in your
local community life?
• 4. Are you happy with the way your
school/university/TAFE involves you in
the community?
• 5. Looking at things from your
perspective, would you say that the
wider community where you live is
aware of or concerned with the issue of
safety?
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The survey- questions- 6 to 12
• 6. What does the word ‘Citizenship’ mean to
you?
• 7. Are there public places such as malls,
streets, parks and other places in your local
area that you avoid due to safety issues?
• 8. Is your school/university/TAFE a place you
think of as safe?
• 9. Do security cameras make you feel safe in
using public places?
• 10. Should there be more security cameras in
your local area?
• 11. What would make your use of public places
more enjoyable?
• 12. What would make your use of public places
safer?
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The survey- questions- 13-15
• 13. Do you think using public space raises
issues for the following?
• - people with a disability
• - people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender
• - people from Indigenous backgrounds
• - people from ethnic minority backgrounds
• - any other people?
• 14. Do you consider yourself to be
any/some/all of the above? If so, please say
here if you wish…………………………………
• 15. Please give your gender: Male…………..
Female………….
• 16. Please give your age:
• 17. Anything else you want to say?
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Early findings-what 400 Brisbane
state high school students said:
• 1. As a young person do you feel that you are
negatively stereotyped by people in the wider
community? NO:78 YES:322
• 2. Do you think there are enough youth facilities
in your area? YES:86 NO:314
• 3. How involved do you feel in your local
community life? YES:57 (some feeling of
involvement) NO:343 (no or little feeling of
involvement).
• 4. Are you happy with the way your
school/university/TAFE involves you in the
community? YES:167 NO:233
• 5. Looking at things from your perspective,
would you say that the wider community where
you live is aware of or concerned with the issue
of safety? YES:120 NO:280
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More early findings: 400 said:
• 7. Are there public
places such as
malls, streets, parks
and other places in
your local area that
you avoid due to
safety issues?
• YES:179 NO:154
• 8. Is your
school/university,
TAFE a place you
think of as safe?
YES:209 NO:118
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• 9. Do security
cameras make you
feel safe in using
public places?
• YES:95 NO:221
• 10. Should there be
more security
cameras in your
local area?
• YES:183 NO:120
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References for this
presentation
• Article 12 (2000) Curfews and Crimewhat young people think. Edinburgh:
Save The Children Fund Scotland.
• Brown, S. (1998) Understanding youth
and crime-Listening to youth? OPUS.
• Loader, I. (1996) Youth, Policing and
Democracy. London: Macmillan.
• Measor, L. & Squires, P. (2000) Young
people and community safety: inclusion,
risk, tolerance and disorder. Aldershot:
Ashgate.
• Marshall, T.H. (1950) Citizenship and
Social Class. London: Pluto.
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References continued
• Tyler, B., Jablonka, J. and Flick, M.
(1998) Making Space. A Report to the
Darwin City Council on Young People,
Anti-Social Behaviour and Community
Response. Darwin: Centre for Social
Research Northern Territory University.
• White, R. (1990) No Space of Their
Own-Young People and Social Control
in Australia. Melbourne: Cambridge
University Press.
• White, R. (1998) Hanging out:
negotiating young people’s use of
public space. Barton: ACT: N.C.P.
Attorney General’s Department.
• www.yspace.net
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Overview of Workshop
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Setting the scene.
Key research objectives.
Research methods/process.
Theoretical framework.
References for this presentation.
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More early findings………..
• 17. Anything else you want to say?
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