Ruby Pseudo
We recently wrote a white paper on Mobility for Channel 4 Education, where we spoke to kids across the UK, from all backgrounds, lifestyles and life stages, about what they would change about getting around their city and – indeed – their cities themselves… You can read the transcript from the briefing link below… 10,000+ words I might add… I think one of the most interesting things to come out of it, however, was how getting around their city was often impeded by adults, by the chaos and confusion we impress upon these kids against their will and way, and also – what ‘trash’ has ended up symbolizing for this generation, who are genuinely concerned about their cities and it’s welfare. Trash, to kids, is a sign that an area isn’t looked after, that it’s unvisited and no one’s around, or at least – no one that wouldn’t drop their shit all over the floor anyway… Too often we give our kids places that we neglect to populate and infuse, or we open youth clubs and pat ourselves on the back for popping a table tennis in there, but this isn’t what the youth want. As I always say, this is a generation that are interested and interesting, and brands must be the same.
Just over a week ago, I was in Tokyo, meeting the network and barely sleeping at all; there is no city I would rather be half crazed and delirious in, wired awake and wandering around… Whilst out there, I remembered how impressed I always am about how the Japanese spend so much time reveling in the area’s wonders and weirdness; hip to hip with the tourists, foot to feet with foreigners… Together we jostle and jangle our way around Japan, all with our cameras out, all open mouthed, mesmerized and marveling. The Japanese spend hours at culture centres like Asakusa, buying Japanese trinkets in the market, or in Sengakuji, lighting incense for the 47 ronin buried in the temple [and revered as examples of the true Japanese spirit]… This is a nation that does a damned good job of gazing in glee at their own metropolis, who happily haunts the country’s hallowed history for hours on end…
This enchantment with one’s own city is not necessarily something we, as Londoners, do that well, but is a behaviour and belief that all the bloggers show. Allan talks about his hyperactive, dynamic city, about spending times in parks like Beihai park, Tiantan park and Jingshan park, or historical places that pique his interest and inspire his mind. Laureline too speaks about the medieval quarter, ‘beautiful old buildings’, museums and little streets, whilst Leia wishes to drape her city with vines and smiles. Just as Allan points out, all of them have this ‘special connection’ with their city and just as importantly – the same curiosity we see in the Japanese. Across our research with kids, we continually find that the things they want to change about their city aren’t half as hard as we may think… In Glasgow, for instance, we heard that the one thing they would change about their city is the weather. In Sheffield, they’d give kids more things to do… in London they’d try and sort out the Thames divide… Running their city isn’t something that throws them, it’s the simple, little things that make a difference, and brands need to know what they can do to help.
In our original research with Iris, when asking the global bloggers to send us their images of where they’re spending time, there was a wonderful response filled with green spaces, open spaces, places to collect and places to be calm. Of course, there were the images of cemented chaos, scribble scrawled walls and all that we would expect, but it was the fire in the woods, the introspection in a pretty park, and the solitary ‘me’ moments that impressed us the most. These kids don’t always want to surround themselves with others, they want time to spend alone, and that’s one of the biggest mistakes I think people make when making assumptions around our hyper-connected youth. They’re not narcissists online 24/7, they’re concerned, curious and cultural citizens, wishing we’d drive our cars less, thinking we shouldn’t have dropped that litter and walk wandering off down a little alley way – just because they can. What a cultural way to conduct yourself. I love it…
