Skate Urbanism Resources

Further information for evergreen conference attendees

Where to start when considering the inclusion of roller sports in your project:

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits and opportunities presented by modern skateparks, look no further than The Skatepark Project (formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation) - the leading authority on skatepark planning and advocacy.

While the Skate Urbanism movement focuses on integrating roller sports into mixed-use public spaces, many of the lessons learned in traditional skatepark development are still essential to understand. We recommend checking out the Skatepark Best Practices guide to understand the foundations of modern Skate Urbanism:

The Skatepark Project - Resources

A brief summary of TSP’s Skatepark Best Practices guide:

Graphic of two blue triangles, forming a bowtie shape.

Opportunities for rolling are everywhere, but these spaces must be thoughtfully integrated to function as intended.

Two dark green half circles forming a bridge shape.

Leaders in Skate Urbanism

Thanks to years of dedication by local advocates, two cities have emerged as leaders in the Skate Urbanism movement - Bordeaux, France, and Malmö, Sweden.

Bordeaux has lead the way in permitting skateboarding where it was once banned, and has seen an increase in vibrancy and activity in spaces where the activity is now allowed. The city is now home to an annual celebration of skateboarding in the urban landscape, the Connect Skaturbanism Festival, where rideable sculptures by local artists attract a new generation of riders no longer exiled from the urban spaces they love.

In Malmö, skateboarders have taken an innovative approach to education - building a school around a skatepark. Started in 1998, the Bryggeriets Gymnasium provides local youth an alternative structure to school, using skateboarding as a tool to engage students in unique and non-traditional educational opportunities. Malmö has since embraced the benefits of skateboarding, building out a network of skateparks and multi-use rideable spaces that attract skateboarders from around the world.

Bordeaux, France

Malmö, Sweden

Precedent Projects

Examples of successful integration

LOVE Malmö

LOVE Park - also known as JFK Plaza - was the central hub for skateboarders in Philadelphia, and one of the most legendary skate spots in the sport. Despite tireless work by local advocates to save it, the plaza was demolished and replaced, but not before the local government agreed to salvage the granite blocks so beloved by skateboarders. In 2024, skateboarders in Malmö imported a selection of LOVE granite to create a new integrated skate spot in a public park. Simple, pleasant, and unassuming, you might not know it was built by skateboarders for skateboarding as you walk through the park.

Love Malmö

Norquay Park, Vancouver

Running alongside an outdoor basketball court in Norquay Park is a series of tiered concrete ledges popular with skateboarders. Gaps were cast into the ledges to prevent skateboarding, skateboarders filled them, park maintenance removed the gap filling, skateboarders return, skate stoppers are added, and the cycle continued.

When the City of Vancouver approved the Cityskate Skateboard Amenities Strategy in 2022, one aspect of the master-planned vision for new skate spaces included adaptive reuse of existing facilities. While not every space or park is appropriate for skateboarding, this basketball court had a long history of successful shared usage among different groups. This time, instead of fighting skateboarding, the City renovated the ledges for resilience rather than resistance.

Today the space is used by casual basketballers shooting hoops, young children learning to ride bicycles and scooters, skateboarders, unicyclists, BMX riders, you name it - all coexisting and respecting each other’s usage of the court. With this approach, Vancouver was able to provide a great new amenity for the community for far less time and expense compared to a conventional skatepark.

UN Plaza, San Francisco

As Ocean Howell, professor of architectural history at the University of Oregon, once stated, skateboarders can be used as the ‘shock troops of gentrification’ in public space - for better or for worse. Skateboarders tend to be less fearful of otherwise ‘undesirable’ spaces, often seeking out new experiences in back alleys and under bridges that are normally avoided. Urban planners have begun to realize that skateboarding is a great way to bring life and vibrancy to these undesirable places, after which gentrification can follow.

San Francisco’s UN Plaza had always been a hub for skateboarders, who were often seen as the enemies of an otherwise peaceful public space by police and security. However, as the problems of economic inequality and a toxic drug crisis increasingly impacted in urban spaces, UN Plaza became a place pedestrians would avoid. After the legalization of skateboarding and integration of new rideable terrain, skateboarders once again filled the space and the City saw a large drop in crime and drug use, turning it into a desirable destination people want to visit even if they don’t skate.

Skateboarders tend to have mixed feelings about projects like this - they appreciate being embraced rather than ostracized, but not at the expense of those that may be struggling. When using skateboarding as a tool for gentrification, participants tend to agree - ensure adequate alternatives and resources for our neighbours using the space first, then add the skatepark terrain. We’ll happily occupy the underpasses, as long as we’re not ourselves being exploited for private development.

UN Plaza