Anywhere but Here
Making Space for Teens
by Terry Schwarz
CUDC Quarterly 3:3/4 - Winter 2004

In nearly every place where the UDC has been involved in neighborhood planning, residents tell us that parks, open space and recreation are vital to their quality of life. Regardless of race, income or ethnicity, people always ask for more parks and playgrounds, primarily for young children and sometimes for the elderly. I have often wondered about what happens to the large population between childhood and old age. Presumably, "grown-ups" are too busy with work and family to demand recreation opportunities for themselves, or they are capable of providing their own entertainment and recreation, on the golf course, at the bowling alley etc.

But what about teenagers? A remarkable transformation seems to occur in early adolescence, where children change from cute and harmless to vaguely menacing or even scary. As a result, teens tend to get exiled from the world of adults, and their needs are frequently overlooked in neighborhood planning processes. Even worse, teenagers are often actively discouraged from using public places. Removing basketball hoops or installing deterrents to skateboarders are common examples of this phenomenon.

When teens are excluded from public places, they become alienated from adults and from society as a whole. Trouble naturally follows when teens are left with no place to go and nothing to do.

Creating appealing places for teenagers can be a challenge. The first step, often overlooked, is to ask teens what they want. Although every wish may not be accommodated, teens appreciate being included in the process. Gathering places should occur where teenagers already congregate, close to home or school and in a location that is easy to walk to. Most importantly, teenagers do not want to be segregated from people of other ages. Confining teens to a "teen center" is rarely successful, especially when the sole motive for creating such a place is to remove teens from other locations where adults do not want them around. Teens like to be where the action is, and they resent being excluded from the ebb and flow of everyday life.

At a conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning that I attended this summer, Dr. Ann Lusk, a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, used the term "prowess park" to describe a conducive environment for teens. According to Dr. Lusk, adolescent boys have a biological drive to display their physical prowess in an effort to win the attention of girls. Basketball courts and skateboard parks give them a stage on which to display their athletic prowess in front of an audience of their peers. In neighborhoods that lack adequate recreation facilities, teenagers may find other means of demonstrating their prowess, such as graffiti and vandalism. In addition to "prowess parks," teens of both genders need unstructured environments where they can interact with each other outside of the more formal rigors of the school day. Plazas, parks and even street corners can serve this function, provided that teens are not actively discouraged from congregating in these places.

While teenagers can be loud and disruptive at times, finding ways to accommodate and engage them within the public realm yields many benefits. Well-lit, highly visible locations can help to minimize security concerns, while creating lively, prominent places to see and be seen. Inclusive public spaces unite the generations and establish a powerful basis for integrated communities.

Barkwill Park in Cleveland’s Slavic Village was created by teens for kids, working directly with their community development corporation and councilman. It appeals to families and kids of all ages with play structures for little and medium-sized kids and a gazebo intended for summertime dances and events. (Photo by Kara Lubischer, Slavic Village Development Corporation)