Children's street culture
It is strongest in urban working-class industrial districts where children are traditionally free to play outside in the streets for long periods without supervision.
In summer, children may use scavenged materials to create a temporary and semi-hidden "den" or "hideout" or "HQ" in a marginal area near their homes, which serves as an informal meeting and relaxation place.
[3] As a traditional phenomenon it has been closely investigated and documented in the western world during the 20th century by anthropologists and folklorists such as Iona Opie; street photographers such as Roger Mayne, Helen Levitt, David Trainer, Humphrey Spender[4] and Robert Doisneau; urbanists such as Colin Ward and Robin Moore, as well as being described in countless novels of childhood.
The research of Robin Moore stresses children's need for "marginal" unsupervised areas "within running distance" of homes (scrubby bushes and hedges, disused buildings).
The spread of distractions such as video games, the Internet, and television has raised concerns about the vitality or survival of children's street culture.
[8] There is no known verification or confirmation that the mythology she describes actually exists,[9] but these "secret stories" are clearly based on known elements of street culture, such as labeling certain places "haunted" or recycling legends of dangerous spirits such as Bloody Mary.
