No space

Young people today are not nearly active enough. This results not only in physical problems such as overweight and obesity and lack of fitness. Girls, especially, have a problem. When young people are not active enough, this also has a negative impact on their ability to concentrate and, at worst, can result in learning difficulties.

From asking young people, it emerges that one of the reasons is the lack of outdoor facilities. In a number of focus group interviews conducted by Capacent Epinion on behalf of KOMPAN, it transpires that 13–16-year olds from Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK would like more active outdoor meeting places within cycling distance of their homes. In the same survey, young people express that they want to show consideration for their surroundings and are concerned about being too noisy.

 

Many municipalities want to provide more breathing space for this age group. The fact that young people often have a negative image, though, is a major problem, associated with lack of consideration and vandalism. Accordingly, many towns refuse to create outdoor facilities where young people will be visible in the street scene. At the same time, the municipalities lack documentation as to what types of outdoor environments really work. British and German surveys indicate that vandalism can be substantially reduced by building active outdoor spaces for teenagers in their neighbourhoods. The same survey emphasises the importance of including young people in the process of establishing activities.