Appropriating Spaces as a Form of Urban Education

Abstract

In the first part of this chapter, the terms “indoor childhood”, “isolation” and “suppression” are used to discuss aspects related to changes in public spaces for children and young people. These does not just mean conventional public space as a public area which people move about in within the town (town squares, parks, etc.) but also what is known as semi-public space which, in the form of shopping malls, fast-food outlets etc., can present a great challenge to young people. The school, too, has become a public space; it is used all day long as a place where children and young people live, and many school playgrounds are also open as public spaces even outside school hours. To understand how children and young people behave in different public spaces, the concept of appropriation, used in critical psychology, is especially suitable to shed light on children’s and young people’s behaviour as a way of appropriating spaces; as spacing, extending their sphere of action, changing situations, connecting different spaces, etc. This approach also reveals that appropriative behaviour always incudes educational aspects, not so much in the field of formal education but more in that of informal, “everyday” education.