STEVEN MILES Resistance or Security? Young People and the ‘Appropriation’ of Urban, Cultural and Consumer Space

Are young people servants of urban consumer society? Do they simply accept the dominant ideologies of the status quo or is their relationship with the status quo a critical and reflective one? As observers of the consuming city it might be tempting to come to the conclusion that young people positively embrace the city as a site of consumption and that they are, more so than any other age group, happy to indulge in the superficial attractions of consumer lifestyles. Yet despite young people’s apparent willingness to positively embrace the principles of consumerism, their relationship with urban culture remains ambiguous. They might be said to be at one and the same time upholders of the consumerist ideal and usurpers of urban consumer space.