Role of Gardens and Urban Public Spaces in Meeting the Cultural Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults

Leisure time is an extremely important part of life for children and adolescents especially in urban environments; providing them with many opportunities to rehearse different social roles and activities in order to adapt to urban life. Leisure time, therefore, has a dual role; it can be an oportunity for relief after daily stressful situations, personal development, as well as creative activities, but also can be a threat for developing and manifesting many forms of risky and dangerous social behaviors. Besides, from an objective point of view, gardens and public spaces in a city are places in which social relationships and life are inherent. Therefore, these spaces can play an important and constructive role in meeting the cultural needs of adolescents and young adults. This paper tries to analyze the theoretical principles related to role of public spaces and urban gardens as social forums in urban environments, and represents the need for the existence of such places which can introduce and improve the culture among citizens; especially young adults.