Young People's Gatherings Ref 066 in the Urban Public Realm enhancement of or distraction from its liveability Reem Zako University College London, London, United Kingdom
[email protected] Keywords spatial configuration; social structures; urban space; public realm; young people Abstract This paper focuses on where young people gather in the urban public realm, and the effect that this may have on the perceived liveability of an area. Gatherings of young people have become very topical in the UK in recent years, especially because of the way that the public perceives this activity as intimidating and potentially aggressive. This has resulted in much concern by the public and interest by the press about the consequential antisocial nature of these gatherings, leading to government debate and legislation to control the antisocial behaviour of young children and adolescents in public space. The study is based on a questionnaire/survey distributed to residents in twenty housing estates and residential developments in London's city fringe district of Clerkenwell. The aim of the study was to capture the residents' perceptions about the liveability of their locality through an assessment of twenty-four different types of criteria relating to the built environment, including the condition of the urban fabric, the effects of traffic, and the prevalence of anti-social activities and behaviour. The dominant factor affecting the perceived liveability of an area was found to be the extent to which the public realm was blighted by the threatening nature