Trapped in Space? Children's Accounts of Risky Environments

The purpose of this article is to explore children's perceptions and experiences of safety and risk in one highly contested interface area in Belfast. Interface areas are landscapes divided by physical and symbolic boundaries on the basis of religious/ethno‐national identification. The research...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children & society 2007-11, Vol.21 (6), p.432-445
Main Author: Leonard, Madeleine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
At Risk Persons
Child. Socialization
Children
Cultural Influences
Early Adolescents
Environmental Influences
Ethnicity
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Geography
Ireland
Northern Ireland
Political Influences
Religious Factors
Risk
Safety
Social Environment
Social Influences
Sociology
Sociology of the family. Age groups
Space Utilization
Stress Management
Violence
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Summary:The purpose of this article is to explore children's perceptions and experiences of safety and risk in one highly contested interface area in Belfast. Interface areas are landscapes divided by physical and symbolic boundaries on the basis of religious/ethno‐national identification. The research draws on maps and focus group discussions with young teenagers from four schools in an interface area located in North Belfast. The teenagers identified both private and public places of risk that they faced in their everyday lives. The types of risks produced by this environment are outlined and the teenagers’ strategies for managing the daily risks that they faced in their everyday lives are assessed. The data reveal how teenagers negotiate movement across different types of space and illustrate the extent to which their immediate geographical environment is dependent on its location within wider political, social and cultural systems.
ISSN:0951-0605
1099-0860
DOI:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2007.00091.x