Introduction

In 2003 the British government declared that Every Child Matters (Chief Secretary to the Treasury, 2003). The expression of this assertion was that children should be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. One of the aims of this policy was to provide a more joined-up approach to children and young people's services in local government. A more recent development of this policy was the launch of the Children's Plan for England, in December 2007 (DCSF, 2007). This is intended as a 10-year programme with the aim ‘to make England the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up’ (DCSF, 2007: 3).

But how do these policies relate to children and young people and their relationship to open spaces? Are children and young people respected in public open spaces, especially in our increasingly physically dense and multicultural urban areas? This chapter explores the place of children and young people in public open spaces and considers whether they are accepted and respected (or otherwise). The chapter uses the examples of young people skateboarding and the provision of outdoor play spaces for children. It concludes that public open spaces are essentially controlled by adults. The implications for respect and citizenship are discussed. But first, it is worth considering what is meant by ‘public open space’.

Defining public open space

There have always been debates about spaces and whether they are public or private, by both ownership and use. In recent years approaches to open space have included a range of definitions and constructs which have been based upon both physical and social understandings. Thus, one assertion is that open space is the land, the water on the land and, in addition, the space and light above the land (Tankel, 1963), a concept which can perhaps be easily identified with in light of the fact that people often like to go outside for the ‘fresh air’. Another definition of open space is that it is the land and water in an urban area that is not covered by cars or buildings, or is any of the undeveloped land (Gold, 1980).