Youth places and spaces: the impact of the disappearing ‘streetscape’ on youth social capital.

1. Youth places and spaces: the impact of the disappearing ‘streetscape’ on youth social capital. Paulina Billett (La Trobe University, Australia)

2. About this presentation • Examines the effects of the disappearance of the fourth environment on youth social capital • The street is important in youth networking • Space is increasingly becoming more controlled • Control and surveillance has increased feelings of isolation, mistrust of and by adults and has affected networking

3. Setting up the conversation

4. Public transport services Train Stations Bus Stops The oaks Picton Tahmoor Picton Thirlmere Tahmoor

5. Description of participants

6. Importance of social capital • Over the last 10 years, social capital has become increasingly used when attempting to tackle the issues facing young people in society including poverty, homelessness and school disengagement . • Social capital’s most significant benefit for youth researchers, policy makers and workers alike - Can help us to understand the experiences of youth outside 'traditional' youth theory. • The places in which young people foster and reproduce social capital continues to be ignored.

7. The importance of space in the formation of social capital • Hanging out allows youth to prove their understanding of youth culture by proving their ‘coolness’ within the group (Danesi, 1994). • However, young people are restricted in the places in which they can gather due to age and economic situation. • Unlike adults, youth can only occupy many spaces under the proviso that they will accept adult surveillance. • This often leads to young people feeling isolated, bored and disengaged from their local communities.

8. Negative impact of the surveillance and loss of space • Young people often report feeling mistrusted by the community as well as experiencing an acute awareness of negative feelings directed toward them by adults (Morrow, 2001). ‘I don’t know, they don’t want to change anything, like for the young people coming into this area, like all the people (adults) want the area to stay the same’ (Jasmine, Group 5, Rural Fire Services) ‘Yeah like some people say there is like a mini-arcade at the pub, but like what kid wants to hang out at the pub with all the drunk people and stuff…’ (Christina, Group 3, Picton Anglican Church)

9. Seen to be seen • Young people gather in a variety of environments, from the highly adult controlled spaces of the home and school environment, to the relatively adult free (but increasingly under surveillance) fourth environment.

10. The street • The street plays a particularly important role in social capital formation as a place where young people can gather to reaffirm their group belonging and display their coolness and being in the know. • However, the street has come under attack due to the moral panics generated around the positioning of young people within these spaces- as victims or threats. • The conceptualisation of youth’s as victims stems from the (adult) fear of possible physical or sexual danger to young people when hanging out outside adult control. Youths as threats - young people (particularly males) present a risk to others sharing public space and has resulted in the right of young people to use public space being contested.

11. Youth space? • Youth centres are seen as appropriate places for young people • They “keep” young people off the street • However their “appeal” and effectiveness is questionable

12. Youth Centres • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAx_-XnHfEI Photo used with permission from CLW

13. When communication fails... • Young people must be engaged in planning and conversation and care must be taken not to do this in a tokenistic fashion • Paulina - And what happened with that petition? • Josh- Nothin • Brad- Nothin • Josh- don’t know • Steven- just went down the drain • Lachlan- yeah nothing • Brad- we’ve tried heaps of times before • Paulina - so what are you trying to do? Get another one built there or something? • Frank- oh an extension... • Steven- they are talking about little kids and shit, they are trying to get a little one there • Brad- I reckon it’s a complete waste of time hey • Frank- they got like 25 grand to like upgrade it but they haven’t done anything • Paulina- so what’s happened to the 25 thousand? • Frank- well its Picton council... They put everything into the roads around here…

14. Bargo Skate Park Bargo Skate Park before Youth Petition Bargo Skate Park After Youth Petition

15. Commercial spaces • Just as with the street, public/private spaces, such as shopping centres are highly contested places of youth interaction. • Shopping centres are telling examples of the private space/public access dynamic (Hatzopoulos and Clancy 2007) • Joe - ‘Whenever me and my friends go to the shops we are made to feel like we are thief’s, or some kind of weirdos… guards are always watching and wondering if we are going to do something wrong…’

16. How does lack of space affect the social capital of young people • If a young person hopes to maintain their networks and create new ones, they must be able to prove their understanding of youth culture. • young people in being seen to be seen understand that they must display the appropriate stylistic for their particular group. • The spaces in which young people congregate provide young people with the ability to prove appropriate cultural understanding and earn social worth.

17. Youth strategies to gain space • Young people are not powerless and they have found many creative ways in which to colonise ‘new space’ in which to network. • Online social networking is a continuity of ‘real world’ networking, where social hierarchies are likely to be present and individuals might be brought into the circle of conversation if the individual is found to be ‘cool’, or ignored if not (Boyd, 2008b). • For most young people, social networking is more than a way of communicating, it is a public display of connections and status. • The explosive growth of internet use by young people has led to a steady stream of moral panics directed at internet useand calls for regularisation.

18. Getting it right • where a provision cannot be made for their needs, young people should be made aware of these short comings and consultation should be undertaken to find a solution. • Young people crave genuine engagement, and most importantly as members of our society they deserve it. Tahmoor dirt jumps

19. Thanks!