Space - the fnal frontier: an exploration of territoriality

Interest in territoriality and young people’s social use of public space has concentrated largely on negative perceptions and has been mostly concerned
with maintaining public order. Sustained through the stereotyped perception that young people hanging around on street corners are “up to no good”, there
seems to be a perpetual moral panic about young people in public places and
their perceived or reported engagement in crime, disorder and disruption (Brent, 2001: Waiton, 2000; Scottish Office, 1998; Drakeford and Butler 1998). Media interest has focused almost exclusively on young people as the perpetrators of crime with minimal exploration of young people’s experiences as victims of crime or of the experiences of the vast majority of young people who simply meet on the streets to socialise with their friends. Furthermore, the idea that territoriality is an experience that is common to large sections of society, regardless of age and social standing, is rarely acknowledged.