Growing up in the city

In this chapter we outline how children and youth experience the city in diverse ways. How they use urban space and how they are viewed within it has changed both over time (through the development of cities from pre-to post-modern) and over space (both within cities and between countries). Markers of social difference including gender, age, class, sexuality and ethnicity also influence the ways in which young people experience urban space through living, playing and working in the city. In this chapter, we begin by exploring how children and youth have made use of the city over time taking a historical perspective to changing urban society. Then, having examined young people’s work in some depth in Chapter 3, we focus on two other key aspects of growing up in the city: living and playing. Throughout this chapter the ways in which markers of social difference intersect our discussions further demonstrate how growing up in the city is not only related to the significance of place but also the significance of social and cultural attributes.