Youth, space and the public sphere : a critical analysis

Abstract

The scope of this study has been to study the issue of land use transformation through urban regeneration from a youth and community studies perspective and substantiate arguments regarding the impact that the transformation of public space into a more corporate dominated environment is having on the personal, social and political development of young people. The area under investigation; 'Youth, Space and the public Sphere: A Critical Analysis' has been studied through the review of three case studies of urban redevelopment projects within the local community, through content analysis of official development policy documents and qualitative interviewing with young people who have been affected by the regeneration projects. The results have identified that land-use transformation through regeneration projects, which tend to promote leisure in terms of formal consumption patterns, dominate urban development in Malta, such that little consideration is made to the informal leisure activities of young people. In general, the young people interviewed for the purpose of this study profess to have been negatively affected by the regeneration projects, and tend to feel alienated, excluded and socially controlled by the regenerated environment. This situation has been analysed through theoretical frameworks which relate spatial arrangement as an indication of social structure, mainly through Habermas' theory of communicative action and the Foucauldian perspective on power and social control. In reference to the conclusions presented in this study, namely that; 'Maltese youth sphere is being increasingly taken over by corporate power to the detriment of the social, personal and political development of the youth community', the need for more democratic and inclusive frameworks in urban planning is called for, such that, several implications are seen to arise from the present local situation for the purpose of ameliorating current development and youth policies. In particular, such situation raises the question of whether and how public spheres today could conceivably relate a more democratic political function, so that youth participation in development processes becomes a major priority for any comprehensive agenda on behalf of young people.