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Memories of vacant lots: How and why residents used informal urban green space as children and teenagers in Brisbane, Australia, and Sapporo, Japan

Compared to current concerns, adults reflecting on childhood express sufficient access to informal urban green space and few concerns about safety

This exploratory study used both quantitative and qualitative data obtained through a written survey to compare adult residents’ memories of informal urban green space (IGS) use in their childhood and teenage years in two geographically and culturally distinct cities (Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan). The survey was sent to a randomized sample of 1910 households in Brisbane and 1980 in Sapporo. Response rate was low: Brisbane yielded 123 valid responses and Sapporo 163. Respondents were both male and female and ranged in age from 19 to 90.

Items on the survey included closed-ended questions and an ‘other’ qualitative, open-ended answer field. The first question asked respondents whether they used IGS as a child or teenager. Follow-up questions addressing frequency, types of activities, reasons for using IGS and problems with IGS use were administered only to child or teenage IGS users.

Over 70% of the respondents reported using IGS during their childhood and teen-age years. The IGS users reported preferring IGS over other green space primarily because it was easily accessible. Over 70% of IGS users reported experiencing no problems (such as danger of injury, or strangers) when using IGS.

There were some reported differences between the Brisbane and Sapporo groups in their use of IGS. Of those reporting IGS use during childhood, daily users were the largest group in Sapporo; weekly users the largest in Brisbane. Among teenage users, weekly users of IGS made up the largest group in Brisbane; sporadic IGS users the largest in Sapporo. When using IGS as children, Brisbane respondents reported their most common activities were exploration, playing games and seeking a private place secret from adults. The Sapporo respondents’ most commonly reported activities as children were playing games, exploration and observing wildlife or plants. As teenagers, Brisbane residents reported using IGS for walking, exploring and seeking seclusion from adults. In Sapporo, residents reported that as teens they used IGS for playing games, walking, and observing wildlife or plants. Respondents from both groups reported that the most common reason for preferring IGS over a park or garden was ease of access or proximity. Brisbane residents also noted they perceived IGS as wild and exciting and offering solitude. Sapporo residents also noted they chose IGS because they lacked nearby parks, they wanted fewer restrictions and because IGS was wild and exciting.

The results of this study indicate that IGS was widely available to respondents (in contrast to today) and that few problems or danger arose (in contrast to current parenting concerns). Results also support the idea that there is a history of children using IGS for recreational purposes across cultural and geographical differences. However, cultural differences arose in the teen years with considerably more Sapporo residents stopping their IGS usage as teenagers compared to Brisbane. This difference may underlie pronounced geographic differences in adult green space use. The authors offer a variety of hypotheses as possible explanations of this finding and well as a discussion of changes in IGS accessibility over time and the possible implications of current restricted use for children’s development.

Citation

Rupprecht, C.D.D., Byrne, J.A., Lo, A.Y., (2016). Memories of vacant lots: How and why residents used informal urban green space as children and teenagers in Brisbane, Australia, and Sapporo, Japan. Children's Geographies, 14(3), 340-355.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2015.1048427

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