[LUM#20] The City Caught in Its Own Game
Preferring public spaces to skate parks, urban skaters are taking over the city by using street furniture to perform their tricks. The city stands to gain from this experience that celebrates physical expression in an urban setting.
Skate parks haven’t made a difference. Skateboarders and BMX riders continue to ride along benches or up stairwells. “The government’s attempt, starting in the 1990s, to confine these activities to dedicated spaces—as is the case with all sports (stadiums, swimming pools)—has never stopped riders from continuing to practice in public spaces. This stems from a failure to understand the importance of the urban experience in this practice, ” explains Thomas Riffaud, a sociologist at the Santesih laboratory1 at the University of Montpellier. “Repurposing street furniture, performing tricks in spaces not meant for us, playing with the gaze of passersby—all of this contributes to the adventure of urban skating, ” says the man who has long skated on sidewalks.
“This practice helps people reconnect with the city”
Treating the city as a playground is also an act of resistance against the norm of urban management that focuses on the efficiency of traffic flow. Riders disrupt the planning of pedestrian and transit movements. By claiming public spaces for the duration of a ride, they even challenge the French notion of public space as belonging to no one, according to Thomas Riffaud: “The skateboarder, on the contrary, explains to us that public space belongs to everyone, including him. A vision that revitalizes public spaces, which are increasingly deserted today, precisely because fewer and fewer people are claiming them as their own.” An approach also found among graffiti artists.
“When it comes to the body, this practice reconnects people to the city because it involves a very precise understanding of the urban environment,” notes the researcher, who claims he can recognize Montpellier’s Albert 1er and Comédie squares just by ear, thanks to the distinctive sound skateboards make in those two spaces. His sociological studies of riders show how, in their choice of location, all the senses are engaged: sight for the shape and potential of the tricks, but also touch for the glide, and even smell to assess whether the experience is worth enduring the stench, for example… “Adapting to an urban environment that is sometimes hostile fosters an intimate relationship with the city, a genuine affection for the place where one lives,” he comments.
History proves the skaters right
Rather than a political claim to public space, Thomas Riffaud prefers to use the term “intuition” to describe skaters’ resistance to the established urban order. “The point is also to take a positive view of the conflicts between skaters and other residents: diversity in public space creates friction, but that’s precisely where we learn to live together. ” And history proves the skaters right. More and more municipalities—so-called “skate-friendly cities”—are using these activities to revitalize deserted public spaces. While this movement is most visible in Northern Europe and Australia, it is gradually gaining traction in France. In Bordeaux, in particular, where—following negotiations with residents—downtown squares are open to riders during designated hours. “Specifications for street furniture are starting to incorporate this aspect: benches must not only accommodate onlookers but also be sturdy enough to serve as a support for skating!” the enthusiast rejoices. He doesn’t forget that municipalities continue to ban skateboarders through fines or deliberately hostile urban infrastructure: spikes and ridges installed along surfaces suitable for skating.
“In a country that encourages people to engage in more and more physical activity, and at a time when the population has never been more urban, it makes perfect sense to make room for physical activities in the city,” concludes Thomas Riffaud, who also points out that skateboarders help project a positive image: “The perfect shot—a great trick in a beautiful setting—is the prize skateboarders strive for. And with the rise of social media, they play a major role in promoting a positive image of the body in urban spaces.”
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- Santesih (UM)
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