ABSTRACT
Geographies of children, youth and families is a vibrant area of research. Over the past couple of decades the field has moved from being a minority concern, to one firmly established as a subdiscipline within geography with its own structures within geographical institutions, journals, conferences, culture and an increasing number of researchers. We take this rapid development of interest as the context for our chapter, in which we both seek to examine the defining achievements of the field to date, and debate our future agenda. In examining our progress, we trace the diverse roots of the subdiscipline exploring how these, alongside changing philosophical approaches in geography and developments in the wider world, have shaped our diverse approaches and achievements to date. We then reflect on three challenges facing us today: first whether our subdisciplinary structures and culture are a help or a hindrance to intellectual innovation; second, how we might best conceptualize the axis of social difference which lies at the centre of our field; and finally, in what ways we can best manage the tension between theoretical insight and the policy imperative in a changing political and economic climate.
