Abstract

This zine explores the growing impact of neoliberalism on urban space, focusing on defensive design interventions. Inspired by recent research on hangjongeren and youth placemaking in Groningen, it highlights the lack of youth-specific spaces and examines how urban design choices can either restrict or support young people’s use of public areas. Building on these findings, this zine discusses how neoliberalism influences urban environments through defensive design, offers a guide to identifying such interventions, and explores what can be done to challenge them. Beyond documentation, this zine reflects on current discourse on spatial justice, advocating for a more critical and inclusive approach to urban planning, and calls for better citational praxis in the planning discipline. In making defensive design visible to wider audiences, this zine aims to provide a basic toolkit for recognizing and addressing exclusionary urban interventions, with the aim of creating equitable public spaces for all.