Title

Sketching Culture, Sketching Nature: Uncovering Anchors of Everyday Nature for Urban Youth

Publication Date

12-1-2012

Document Type

Article

Abstract

There has, historically, been considerable uncertainty over the meaning of 'urban nature' and, therefore, the extent to which culture and nature are bound in the urban setting. We explore, in this paper, the spatiality of everyday nature as experienced by youth in an urban setting. To do so, we draw on the results of a participatory mapping activity that was designed to elicit information about where youth felt most connected to nature while in the city. Using sketch-map survey instruments, we collected hand-drawn responses from forty-three high school students in the downtown core of Tacoma, Washington. Data were digitized and analyzed in a GIS, and results were revealing of the contingency of the 'nature' concept in urban space as well as the centrality of 'loose' space to urban experiences that are evocative of being in nature.

Publication Title

Social And Cultural Geography

Volume

13

Issue

8

First Page

873

Last Page

893

DOI

10.1080/14649365.2012.735690

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print with embargo

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