Shedding new light on Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) to improve social inclusion: facilitating POPS for youths’ social activities

This study addresses multifaceted challenges in enhancing the inclusivity of Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPSs) in urban contexts, particularly for youth.

Young people often encounter limitations in their social engagement due to financial constraints and restrictions on adult-oriented venues.

Despite their potential, POPSs role as inclusive and vibrant spaces for youths remains unexplored, revealing gaps in inclusive tools and comprehensive analyses of this relatively new type of public space in Dutch cities. This research introduces an innovative user-centric approach that effectively addresses varying social needs.

Rooted in Ecological Psychology, the approach incorporates the concept of affordances - the opportunities for action provided by the environment, examining the interaction between the built environment and individuals action capabilities.By integrating affordances with levels of social interactions in public spaces, the project aims to develop a methodological framework to evaluate POPSs social inclusiveness for youth.

This framework investigates the intricate interplay between user capabilities, social interactions, and the built environment.

It develops, tests, and validates an affordance-based evaluation model based on information synthesised from observations, behavioural mapping and tracking of users in five case studies in Dutch cities.

The projects outcomes will be communicated to city officials, property managers, urban designers, and planners through the POE framework and an innovative Gray Map that visually represents the degree of accessibility and inclusiveness within POPSs for different user types.

This project contributes to developing more inclusive urban environments that cater to diverse user groups, particularly youth, ultimately advancing urban social well-being within public spaces.

So all youth feel safe, accepted, and free to participate in urban life, increasing social, mental, and physical health for all youths.