ABSTRACT

Places outside the city have continuously been characterised by received knowledge about decline, youth outmigration, lifestyle discourses and a lack of opportunities for young people. This paper argues that greater clarification of young people’s place-making practices counteracts received knowledge about the decline of the regions, discourses about the ‘idyllic’ communities and lack of access commonly understood to impact young people beyond the city. This paper further seeks to contribute to the academic discussion about non-urban spaces by focusing on regional places specifically, a key geography in the discussion about place. A focus group study with 62 individuals aged 16–28 years was designed to capture young people’s place-making practices. Using Harris, A., and J. Wyn. (2009. “Young People’s Politics and the Micro-Territories of the Local.” Australian Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 327–344) concept ‘micro-territories of the local’ as a framework, the analysis draws on gender and social class to interrogate young people’s place-making projects. The findings indicate that regional towns represent a unique constellation of people, resources and history that highlights the specific place-making projects of young people in their teens and into their 20s.

摘要

城外的地方一直以关于衰落、青年外流、生活方式话语和年轻人缺乏机会的知识为特征。本文认为，对年轻人的场所营造实践进行更深入的澄清会抵消有关地区衰落的知识、关于“田园诗”社区的讨论以及普遍认为对城市以外的年轻人影响的缺乏访问。本文进一步寻求通过特别关注区域性场所（场所讨论中的一个关键地理学）来为关于非城市空间的学术讨论做出贡献。一项针对 62 名 16-28 岁个体的焦点小组研究旨在捕捉年轻人的场所营造实践。使用 Harris, A. 和 J. Wyn。（2009。“年轻人的政治和地方的微观领土。澳大利亚政治学杂志44 (2): 327–344) 以“当地的微领土”概念为框架，分析利用性别和社会阶层来审视年轻人的场所营造项目。调查结果表明，区域城镇代表了一个独特的人、资源和历史星座，突出了青少年和 20 多岁的年轻人的特定场所营造项目。