著者

市川 和子

出版者

一般社団法人 人文地理学会

雑誌

人文地理 (ISSN:00187216)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.61, no.2, pp.126-138, 2009 (Released:2018-01-10)

参考文献数

29

被引用文献数

2

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This paper discusses how urban open space is made into a gathering place for youth within the dynamics of two different relationships, that among youths, and that between adults and youths. As a case study, I interviewed youths who gathered in front of Mito Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.The public open space in front of Mito Station is laxly regulated by the local government, so that youths who cannot find affordable space for leisure activities at their homes, schools, or in the local community tend to gather there. They include street dancers, BMX riders, street musicians, and loiterers. Friendly relationships between groups are limited to those of the same or similar leisure activity. The relationship between dancers or BMX riders is fairly friendly. On the other hand, their relationships with the street musicians or loiterers is not so friendly.At Mito Station, control of the space by the police shapes use by each leisure activity group. The degree of strictness of control differs according to each leisure activity. For example, the control of the street musicians is stricter than that of the dancers or the BMX riders. Policemen tend to enforce control on various kinds of street performers from the perspective of their own sense of morality. The control by police of the loiterers is based rather on a sense of paternalism. We can see the policemen’s differing level of control through these examples.Mito Station has been made into a youth gathering place by two relationships. One relationship is among the youths themselves, and the other is between the youths and the policemen. How the youths feel in the public open space depends on the policemen’s level of control. For musicians or loiterers, the public open space isn’t a comfortable place to stay in because of the policemen’s stricter control. For dancers or BMX riders, the place is much more comfortable, because of the policemen’s relative tolerance. Thus the policemen’s level of control affects the relationships among these youths.Therefore, the creation of a gathering place for youths within an urban open space depends on the nature of the youth’s relationships.