Over the last twenty years there has been a developing research interest in young people
and their relationship with the urban environment. Various researchers from different
countries and academic backgrounds as Kevin Lynch (1977), Colin Ward (1977) and
Roger Hart (1979) were pioneering in their approach of observing the experiences of
young people in the city. First, Lynch (1977) in his research Growing Up in Cities studied
small groups of young people in diverse cities (Melbourne, Warsaw, Salta and Mexico
City), in an attempt to discover how they used and valued their environment, and identified
the importance of urban space as a vital resource in development from adolescence to
adulthood. Then, Hart’s (1979) major study Children’s Experience of Place aimed to
discover the landscape as it exists for children. His arguments were based on the findings
of a case study he carried out in a small town in New England, US. The core conclusion of
his research was that within each child lies a primary urge and desire to explore and come
to know the larger environment. Meanwhile, at the same time as the above studies, the
British anarchist and education reformist, Colin Ward (1977) carried out research in the