ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that greater recognition of the role that place attachments play in the development of personal identity, including increased feelings of security and belonging, has the potential to bring about significant improvements in child wellbeing. It examines children's access to their local environments, and how their use of space can affect the development of their place attachments. The chapter considers the range of children's outdoor activities that adults in the UK perceive to be too risky or socially unacceptable is becoming ever more restrictive, even though these judgements often bear little relation to the likelihood of actual harm or disturbance. It considers how children's place attachments can be promoted, reviewing relevant strands of government policy, and identifying some of the ways that the additional problems faced by children in the care system might be addressed. Children's personal characteristics, family circumstances, and the wider environmental and cultural contexts in which they live all influence their use of space.
