Contemporary provision of open spaces within cities rests largely on professional assumptions about its significance in the lives of residents. This paper presents results from the Greenwich Open Space Project which used qualitative research with four, in-depth discussion groups to determine the design of a questionnaire survey of households in the borough. The research shows that the most highly valued open spaces are those which enhance the positive qualities of urban life : variety of opportunities and physical settings; sociability and cultural diversity. The findings lend some support to the approach of the urban conservation movement but present a fundamental challenge to the open-space hierarchy embodied in the Greater London Development Plan. The Project identifies a great need for diversity of both natural settings and social facilities within local areas and highlights the potential of urban green space to improve the quality of life of all citizens.

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There is still only a limited development of a solidly grounded social and cultural geography prepared to conceptualize children as a neglected social grouping undergoing various forms of sociospatial marginalization. Given the focus and momentum of the 'new' cultural geography, we contend that this is an apposite time to define an agenda for the geography of children, which not only takes into account earlier studies which can inform contemporary debate, largely drawn from an environmental psychology tradition, but which also recognizes the interface between sociology, anthropology and cultural studies and draws upon important work being undertaken by feminist and critical geographers. To date, much of the research on the geography of children has been blighted by fragmentation, narrow disciplinary perspectives and methodologies which do not sufficiently engage themselves with the lifeworld of children in the 'here and now'. In this article we propose a working agenda based upon a set of seven generic propositions which highlight different aspects of children's relationship with their physical and built environment, beyond the home, school and playground. Our emphasis in this review is on work which examines the experiences of children and how they 'see the world' around them. We recognize, however, that part of what children see are structures which constrain them. These may include the adult values imprinted on the physical and built landscapes in which they live, or the social constraints of the adult gaze. We argue that research on the lives of children should not just be reported for its own sake, but should lead to outcomes which encourage empowerment, participation and self-determination consistent with levels of competence.

Empirical qualitative research is gaining recognition within social and humanistic geography, although the ‘small group’ is not yet recognised as a valuable research technique. In this paper we review the use of once-only group interviews in social and market research, and then discuss the principles of Group-analytic psychotherapy as a way of conducting in-depth small groups. By means of a discussion of the Greenwich Open-Space Project, we explore the methodological issues involved in conducting in-depth small groups with local people, discuss the interpretive strategies which can be used to handle large amounts of linguistic data, and present the major findings from the project.

Few geographical studies have explicitly examined the place use and place behaviour of young teenagers, especially within the UK. In this article we report on a survey of a group of 13 year olds, living in a socially and economically deprived neighbourhood in Midland England. Attention focuses on the`fourth environment', that is how these teenagers come into contact with a range of everyday places beyond their home, school and playground. For each individual, the sum of this relationship constitutes a microgeography, which when grouped together provides a spatio-temporal map of experience. The results suggest four recurrent themes, which we present as important aspects of the microgeography of this group of teenagers. We label these as: worlds apart; emblems of difference; special places; and landscapes of powerlessness. The environments of teenagers are not just appendages of the adult world, but are special places, created by themselves and invested with their own values. We argue that teenagers are not adults in waiting but are active cultural producers in their own right. When discussing the results we draw upon research and concepts in cognate disciplines to provide additional insights into teenagers' microgeographies.