LIVING ON THE EDGE: CHILDREN AS ‘OUTSIDERS’

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cultural geography draws attention to the position of ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ groups in society, each with their own ‘ways of seeing’. This article focuses on a significant outsider group, who have seldom been acknowledged in contemporary geographical studies, older children. Despite a burgeoning body of research which highlights the singular environmental needs of older children, most large‐scale environments are designed to reflect only adult values and usages. The visions of environmental planners and landscape architects implicitly reflect the dominant perceptions of a society, such that groups already on the edge become further marginalised by policy making. Older children are seemingly invisible on the landscape. At best they are provided with some kind of token space, commonly a playground, but otherwise they are required to fit into the alien environments of the adult world. This article evaluates the outcomes of conventional environmental planning, reports on a survey of 9–11 year old children's ways of seeing' familiar outdoor places and argues for an action plan which recognises children as full and active members of society.