Why do some young people engage in street harassment? What role does public space play in a culture of inequality, and how can we leverage public space to support young people in forming their identities in a more constructive way?

The graduation project of Juliëtte van Driel (Strategic Product Design, TU Delft) focused on exploring the social structures surrounding street harassment. By working across different levels of abstraction—adopting a systemic design perspective while also immersing herself in the lived experiences of Rotterdam’s youth in public spaces—she discovered that, for some, engaging in street harassment is part of exploring their identity. While this behavior is problematic, the research also revealed that public space, despite being a site of experimentation and self-development, often fails to offer young people opportunities beyond conforming to the status quo—a culture of inequality, in which street harassment is normal. Additionally, focusing on the negative does not work when working with young people.

How might we leverage the public space to support young people in forming their identities in a more constructive way? Juliëtte argues that the answer lies in taking young people more seriously and giving them more agency over their own environment. The designed intervention is a workshop that enables existing groups of young people to meaningfully contribute to shaping their public environment by fostering creativity, critical thinking, and dialogue in a way that is fitting and valuable for young people. The workshop centers young people as active agents in envisioning and influencing the future of their environment, but on their terms.

Curious about the research and how the workshop works? Read Juliëtte’s master thesis: “Beyond street harassment: cultivating agency over the public space for young people in Rotterdam”.

Read more about the Master Thesis here