A part of community or apart from community? Young people's geographies in mixed community developments

During the last 15 years mixed tenure communities have been an explicit planning policy in the UK to create socio-economic balance. Despite particular benefits from such a policy ascribed to young people, there has been no specific examination of young people's experiences of living in such communities. Through a mixed methods exploration of two new mixed communities in Northamptonshire, the social and spatial lives of young people aged 11-16 have been explored to see what affect living in a 'new' and 'mixed' community has on their geographies. The study found that tenure did not have a strong effect on geographies, though it was related to population churn and strength of community feeling in the two areas. There was evidence of inter-tenure friendships, as well as negative socio-economic stereotyping. The research revealed that the newness of the development strongly affected geographies in a number of ways. These included a perception of greater safety, the availability of community facilities, an uncertainty over spaces due to continued construction, the building of friendships by recent movers, a rapid growth in population, the establishment of reputation, and the construction of community bonds. The research also revealed that the spaces of Children's Geographies, and their uses, are changing with a greater prevalence for spaces of consumption (such as supermarkets), more mobile use of the street, and a preference for parental lifts. Further areas of research may wish to explore: children's social agency in terms of parental chauffeuring; the effect of newness on place, community, reputation, and geographies of friendship; how geographies of consumption relate to Children's Geographies and community, and space and mobility practices in twenty-first century Children's Geographies.