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The volume provides an overview of recent research (within geography and allied disciplines) around the overarching concept of 'safe and accessible places of encounter'. It develops according to three interrelated themes. The first part of the volume examines several of the many spaces children use and that are relevant to the geographies of children and young people including: the city centre and inner city high rise housing, urban versus suburban and rural spaces, local neighbourhoods, the 'home' (for particular groups of children and young people such as child domestic workers in Bangladesh), school playgrounds, services (such as domestic violence shelters), outdoor natural spaces, and "life space" (where music and arts are presented in a non-political space in Bosnia-Herzegovina). The second part examines how notions of safety, protection and risk relate to providing children and young people with good life chances, and accessible spaces that enhance or reduce well-being.This middle section emphasises the debate about risk and the need to balance risk and safety/protection.
The final part focuses on policy that builds on the provision/identification of spaces, safety/protection and risk. The emphasis is on how policy at different levels (international-national-local-family) helps provide better spaces of encounter and enhances life chances for children and young people. This section also recognises the different levels of policy making associated with different parts of the world and different regional settings. The gap between policy intentions and outcomes is recognised (e.g Cambodia's policies on orphanage tourism). The policy section includes contributions that relate to planning, education, migration, architecture, health, connection and citizenship, and sustainability. It provides insights into how professionals working in these fields can, through policy, enhance children's and young people's lived experiences and living environments.p>
List of contents
Provision
Policy Creating Child-Friendly Living Environments in Central Cities: Vertical Living Kids
Children and Young People in Domestic Violence Shelters
Protection - Safety and Risk
Children's Experiences in a Botanical Garden: Nature of Risk and the Risk of Nature
"Vulnerable" Children in "Dangerous" Places: Learning Disabled Children in Outdoor Green Space
Children's Everyday Lives in Inner-City Auckland
Policy
Orphanage Tourism: The Need for Protection and Policy
Mobile Homeless Youth, Health Disparities, and Access to Care: Using Mobile Phones and Geospatial Technologies to Document Geographies of Risk and Pathways to Care
Child-Friendly and Sustainable Cities: Exploring Global Studies on Children's Freedom, Mobility, and Risk
About the author
Traces Skelton, formerly a Professor in Critical Geographies, Loughborough University, UK, Tracey Skelton currently teaches at the National University of Singapore. A prolific writer, and avid researcher, Skelton has written numerous papers in top journals and authored and edited several books. She is an active editorial board member of premium journals in Geography, such as Geoforum, Children s Geographies, and ACME.
Summary
The volume provides an overview of recent research (within geography and allied disciplines) around the overarching concept of ‘safe and accessible places of encounter’. It develops according to three interrelated themes. The first part of the volume examines several of the many spaces children use and that are relevant to the geographies of children and young people including: the city centre and inner city high rise housing, urban versus suburban and rural spaces, local neighbourhoods, the ‘home’ (for particular groups of children and young people such as child domestic workers in Bangladesh), school playgrounds, services (such as domestic violence shelters), outdoor natural spaces, and “life space” (where music and arts are presented in a non-political space in Bosnia-Herzegovina). The second part examines how notions of safety, protection and risk relate to providing children and young people with good life chances, and accessible spaces that enhance or reduce well-being.This middle section emphasises the debate about risk and the need to balance risk and safety/protection.
The final part focuses on policy that builds on the provision/identification of spaces, safety/protection and risk. The emphasis is on how policy at different levels (international-national-local-family) helps provide better spaces of encounter and enhances life chances for children and young people. This section also recognises the different levels of policy making associated with different parts of the world and different regional settings. The gap between policy intentions and outcomes is recognised (e.g Cambodia’s policies on orphanage tourism). The policy section includes contributions that relate to planning, education, migration, architecture, health, connection and citizenship, and sustainability. It provides insights into how professionals working in these fields can, through policy, enhance children’s and young people’s lived experiences and living environments.p>
