Young people and placemaking: The provision of public spaces for and by youth

Interests of young people are neither often well considered in public spaces nor in decisions about the environment around them. One of the most important achievements of growing from childhood to adulthood is the development of one's own social life and increasing one's autonomy, which also means a widening of one's spatial range of action. Despite these spatial needs and benefits for their own development, teenagers are often treated with suspicion in public spaces. One will often find them in large groups, standing around, chatting loudly with one another or playing around. Spatial needs, appropriation and practices, on the one side, and social norms, on the other side, do not necessarily match. In an inclusive city, spatial consumption and production is part of a dialogue with citizens, including vulnerable, "undesirable" and marginalized groups, in order to guarantee them not only the access to public spaces, but also their involvement in planning and decision-making processes. Studies show that young people have a great potential to bring unique insights to the built environment. This chapter explores the potential of young people to be involved in placemaking, reflecting on challenges facing such involvement and taking into account the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Backed by studies in Cork, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Stockholm and Volos, it addresses the question how to use placemaking to change the city into a more inclusive and responsive environment for young people. These cases demonstrate that placemaking can be used as a tool for engaging young people in the decision-making process about their city and local environment, collating evidence-based research on the relationship between young people and public spaces.