‘Away from the Edge’ is a publication aimed at municipalities, neighbourhood renewal and master plans that work with or are affected by young men in groups in vulnerable residential areas.
The project focuses directly on the groups of young men, mainly from other ethnic backgrounds, who are highly visible in vulnerable neighbourhoods and who self-inflicted or involuntarily create insecurity in the local area through attitude, behaviour, myths and/or misconceptions. The publication contains a model for how actors in vulnerable neighbourhoods across sectors can work together to create constructive and safe conditions for everyone. The publication also presents background knowledge on the young men and a number of inspiring cases.
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Excerpt from Away from the Edge (chapter 1)
‘People were uncomfortable with us standing in the centre. There were often 10-20 of us. We weren't there to bother people, but we could see that we were bothering people. We've been hanging out in the centre for generations because we have nowhere else to be.’
This is how a young man in his early 20s describes how the local centre formed a community among a group of young people in a disadvantaged residential area in Nivå. The story is a familiar one. Young boys and men of non-Danish ethnicity gather in groups on a street corner, at the local pizzeria, in a shelter or in the car park. Dressed in hoodies and with an aggressive attitude. They are often the children of large families living in small flats and they are bored - feeling excluded and looking for a community outside the home. Many of them feel like shit. Those who are the worst off feel excluded, marginalised and without opportunities to integrate into mainstream society through education and jobs, which is only exacerbated by poor schooling, poor language skills, blemished criminal records and drug abuse.
Studies from both the Police Safety Index and the Centre for Housing and Social Development show that young men in groups constitute a significant insecurity factor among residents in vulnerable residential areas. Insecurity is exacerbated by young people's reckless behaviour, neighbourhood problems, theft and burglary - and in 24 out of 26 particularly vulnerable residential areas, residents are more insecure than those in the surrounding city.
It's not just the residents who can feel unsafe. Young men are often a challenge and difficult to work with for the municipality's and the masterplan's frontline staff, who work daily to improve the neighbourhood physically and socially. Stories of the young men's criminal behaviour are disturbing, and the young men's tough behaviour can mean that the workers are unsafe and don't know how to approach them. The visibility of young people on the streets has become a symbol of crime and gang activity - whether they are selling weed, showing that they want to do good for the neighbourhood, are working or in education.
The conditions in vulnerable neighbourhoods confirm that there is a lack of knowledge about who these young men are, how to get in touch with them, and how they can be part of a constructive context in the city and in their neighbourhood.
The main purpose of this report, which we have chosen to call In from the edge - Urban development that lifts young men in groups in vulnerable neighbourhoods, is to contribute to constructive development among young men in disadvantaged neighbourhoods - and to create greater security for all those who live in these areas. The report focuses on how professionals in municipalities and housing associations can work with and involve young people - with the help of increased knowledge and new tools.
If professionals become better at creating constructive development among young people in vulnerable neighbourhoods, the benefits are enormous. First and foremost, it will give the employees of area regeneration, municipalities and housing companies far better conditions for creating safe and well-functioning cities and neighbourhoods for everyone. Secondly, young people will have the opportunity to develop as people and in group contexts - potentially moving from a destructive to a constructive role in the neighbourhood. Last but not least, society will save large sums of money in cases where the development leads to young people having an increased connection to education and the labour market.
On the other hand, if conditions do not improve, it can have disastrous consequences for the neighbourhood, other residents, local businesses, professionals and, ultimately, society. For example, a newly renovated park is worthless if the unsafe young people take it over; shops and businesses risk closing or staying away; the young people themselves are trapped in non-constructive life situations; society misses out on the young people's contribution to the public purse and, in the worst case, incurs costs related to abuse, crime and social welfare.
It is our hope that this publication can inspire professionals in municipalities and housing associations to work together with young people on an informed basis. The issue of young people in deprived neighbourhoods is complex and difficult to solve alone. But together, under a common strategy and with well-considered involvement and relationship-building tools, even the most hopeless situation in a disadvantaged neighbourhood can be transformed to create a safe and constructive environment - for the young people and for everyone else.
Happy reading!
Kenneth Balfelt Team