Mapping Childhood in Amsterdam: the spatial and social construction of children’s domains in the city

This paper examines the spatial transformation of the city from children’s point of view. Three important daily living domains – children’s outdoor play spaces, leisure centres and caring institutions – are examined. Empirical findings are made from studies in Amsterdam, where new urban developments affecting children are most apparent in the Netherlands. Conclusions show that developments are both diverse and paradoxical. On the one hand, we see processes that progressively contribute towards the exclusion of children from urban public space. Safety considerations underpin these processes heavily. Children’s marginal position in the public domain is further reinforced in the planning and design of new residential areas. Children do not seem to be a factor that merits consideration. On the other hand, never before has so much attention been paid to children. Adults’ efforts to give due consideration to children’s position lead to the creation of many new domains especially created for children. These give children a ‘face’ in the city, but these spaces are characterised by privatisation, institutionalisation and segregation. In the context of the Netherlands it is not altogether clear what shape the future will take, but it seems to be most likely that indicated developments will continue.