Commissioner for a Day Competition

The NSW Commission for Children and Young People recently held a competition asking young people what they would do if they were commissioner for a day. Feedback from the competition highlighted public space as a key area of concern for children and young people. Main points of the feedback included:

• "Listening to young people and taking kids’ ideas seriously
• Having more fun things for kids to do and safe places for kids to hang out
• Looking after the environment and dealing with climate change
• Getting rid of homelessness." (Source http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/feedback/issue2.cfm?no=4&pg=367&eid=136)  

'Graffiti and Street Art: What do you think?' survey

A team of top end youth have undertaken a survey to gauge public perceptions of graffiti. The survey will examine the effectiveness of current approaches to preventing graffiti and street art.

The survey, coordinated by the Department of Health and Families Office of Youth Affairs (OYA), aims to include young people and graffiti artisits in the debate.

Questions such as whether there ahould be more legal spaces for graffiti formed the basis of the survey.

The results of the survey will be presented in a report to the Minister for Young Territorians, Hon Gerry McCarthy, in December 2009.

A Good Night Out.. A Safe Journey Home: Community Options for safer youth transport

When: Thursday 26 November

Where: Australian Technology Park, Redfern

Aside from driving and limited public transport services, young people have very few options when it comes to getting home safely after a social event.

This free forum will discuss a number of alternative transport programs for young people. The forum will look at current transport options for young people, consult with young people, examine exisiting alternative community transport programs and look at ways to make such programs sustainable.

More information can be found here

If you are interested in the topic of young people and transport, see our transport page.

The following is a bibliography of recent academic articles concerning youth and public space:

Driskell, D, Fox, C and Kudva, N. 2008. Growing up in New York: Youth space, citizenship and community change in a hyperglobal city. Environment &Planning 40 (12) : 2831-2844

Geenen, K. 2009. Sleep occupies no space: The use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa. Africa 79 (3) : 347-366