ABSTRACT
Children and young people growing up in the contemporary cities of developed nations are at greater risk of experiencing both social and environmental placelessness than ever before. The proportion of children and young people as groups in these societies is falling (UN 2013) and they are losing ground on most political agendas in the face of the needs and challenges of ageing populations. Their social voice is a quiet one, and growing quieter. In understanding why this is the case, we need to look at a patchwork of social and environmental influences impacting on children’s experience of place in cities in these societies. These include changes in social demographics and, in particular, the decreasing proportion of children in these populations, increased social risk aversion, decreasing environmental opportunity, combined with limited civic influence, participation, and power. Together, this cocktail of considerations undermines children’s social status and priority, which in turn influences environmental provision for their needs within communities.
