The Photo Walk Method (Itinéraires) for Researching Youth Spaces. Opportunities and Challenges for Childhood and Youth Studies.

Preissing, Sonja

The interest in youth spaces has gained prominence, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Preissing 2021). In the exploration of how young people construct and engage with space, a variety of methodological approaches are applied in childhood and youth studies, including qualitative interviews and participant observation. Methods related to socio-spatial analysis, such as subjective cartography, are also used to examine the spatial engagements of children and adolescents.

In my presentation, I will highlight the extent to which photography, as a visual research method, can be useful for researching the spatial dynamics of young people and their spatial production. I will introduce the "Itinéraires" research method developed by Jean-Yves Petiteau, which has been employed in urban research since the 1980s and has seen further development since. These are so-called photo-walk interviews, in which an interview conducted during a walk is documented ethnographically as well as photographically and presented as a composition of text and imagery (Cuny/Färber/Preissing 2020). This research method is particularly suitable for researching the appropriation and production of space as well as self-positionings by subjects.

Furthermore, I will explore the method’s efficacy in analyzing how young people engage with and produce (urban) spaces. What research opportunities does the visual approach offer in studying youth spaces? What challenges must be considered when applying visual methods to research with children and adolescents?

References

Cuny, Cécile/Färber, Alexa/ Preissing, Sonja (2020): Collaborations itinérantes à travers la HafenCity (Hambourg): retour sur l’épuisement dans la description urbaine. In: Cuny, Cécile/Färber, Alexa/Jarrigeon, Anne (Ed.): Penser l’urbain par l’image: les pratiques de collaboration entre arts et études urbaines, Créaphis Éditions: 104-123.

Preissing, Sonja (2021): Kinderräume in der Coronakrise? Eine kritische Betrachtung aktueller Studien zur Situation in Deutschland. In: sub\urban. Zeitschrift für kritische Stadtforschung. Themenschwerpunkt Kindheit in der Stadt, Band 9, Heft 3 & 4: 331-340.