Neoliberal processes such as displacement, exclusion, and gentrification exacerbate inadequacies in the public realm and the loss of public space for youth’s social activities. Public spaces are important to youth because experimentation, play, and leisure activities are part of the process of discovery, socialization, and the expression of emerging identity. These changes are motivating youth to find new ways to socialize. Surprisingly, there is a gap in the scholarship regarding the subjective effects of urban policy decisions on youth’s social interactions.
Amongst architectural theorists, Kevin Lynch (1977) and Louise Chawla (2002) have promoted the need to develop an understanding of youth’s experience of the urban environment while other scholars have investigated specific abnormalities linking neoliberal ideology with changes in public space such as Michael Sorkin’s (1992) writing on utopian ideals, Mike Davis’ (2007) insights on the instant cities of the middle east, Margaret Crawford’s (1992) study of shopping malls as public space, and Anne-Marie Broudehoux’s (2007) work on contested urban space. Yet, little empirical research has been conducted to demonstrate how neoliberal urban processes shape public space and little has been written about the agency of architecture in the discourse of youth’s social spaces.
This study focuses on three cases; each one highlights a widespread neoliberal urban process (displacement in Manila, gentrification in Houston, and exclusion in Hyderabad). The purpose is to produce empirical evidence that supports the important role that architecture holds as an agent in youth’s social spaces. And, it hopes to uncover key themes within each case that demonstrates how these processes shape youth’s subjective social experiences. By highlighting the role of public spaces in youth’s social lives, this research could prove useful to amend urban, economic, and political policy decisions; to improve architecture and urban planning practices; and, ultimately, to encourage the development of urban environments that are responsive to the needs of the next generation.
