Youthful Senses of Place in Suburban Rural Area : An Analysis of the Narratives of High School Students Living in the East Part of Hamamatsu Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The purpose of this paper, borrowing the framework of studies related to the relationship between rurality and young people in Anglophone Human Geography, is to make clear subjective behavior of youth groups in spaces of home, neighborhoods, schools, amusement quarter and consider what meanings they give to spaces, how they embrace senses of place, taking high school students living in the east part of Hamamatsu metropolitan area as research participant and dealing with their narratives about various places which they used to visit. The author focuses on negotiations of rural knowledge, social relations, spaces and places, and discusses the process of identity formation through urban/rural representations. The main stress as research result falls on three points. Firstly, it is found that participants had consciousness of relativity regarding urbanity/rurality that was embedded in sense of hierarchy as for neighborhoods, their high school, towns, cities, Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka city, Nagoya city, and "Tokyo". The result of our research clearly shows that the knowledge concerning the rural in their everyday life aren't concept which is defined by scholar, professions, government rigidly, so the contrast of urbanity/rurality are negotiated in sense of place. It is likely that the issue of this consciousness of relativity always causing recognition of urbanity is not irrelevant to enforcement of the negative discourses concerning rurality. Secondly, the reason why they embrace such urbanity/rurality conciseness is that they give positive meanings to homogenized consumption spaces that continue to inroads into their neighborhood units. Especially that is indicated in consumption spaces extending its business along roadsides. This is the state of affairs in their everyday life into which much urban information infiltrate through spaces representing urbanity, the activities there and mobile communication network of friends. Thirdly, as to gender relations regarding use of spaces, it seems that the mobility of high-school girls is excellent than that of high-school boys is in circulation. It is clear that many girls find out active meanings in their behavior in consumption spaces, in the other hands fewer boys.