Youth and climate change imaginaries in a hydrogeological risk neighbourhood

Abstract

This contribution examines how young people construct and negotiate climate imaginaries in Niguarda, a neighbourhood of Milan, Italy, officially recognised as highly exposed to hydrogeological risk. Drawing on qualitative research with 47 upper secondary students, the study combines collaborative mapping, photo diaries and focus groups. Grounded in critical studies on risk and uncertainty, the article shows how climate change imaginaries took shape through everyday practices, ethical concerns and contested expectations about who should act. Hydrogeological risk was part of this process, yet, it became meaningful within broader affective geographies rather than as a dominant frame. The study contributes to risk sociology and environmental sociology by showing how climate imaginaries are made meaningful among young people and how they shape understandings of agency, responsibility and climate governance.