Playing Outdoors: The importance of the city as a playground for skateboarding and parkour

Jeffries, Mike, Messer, Sebastian and Swords, Jon (2013) Playing Outdoors: The importance of the city as a playground for skateboarding and parkour. Bank Street Occasional Papers, 30. ISSN 2375-3668

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Abstract

The city, its streets, and its buildings make an ideal playground for skateboarders and freerunners. At the same time, the mostly teenage, mostly male participants in those activities are regarded by civic authorities as a problem. That attitude is part of a general antipathy to young people out on the streets, who are often assumed to be causing a nuisance. We present insights from working with skateboarders and freerunners in Newcastle upon Tyne and Tyneside, an urban conurbation in North East England, that reveal the significance that playing outdoors has for these young people. We also show how they value the city and the autonomy, friendships, and feel-good experience they enjoy there. Playing outdoors is a vital, positive part of their lives that cities should embrace.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	K400 Planning (Urban, Rural and Regional) L700 Human and Social Geography
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Architecture and Built Environment Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Related URLs:	Publisher
Depositing User:	Jon Swords
Date Deposited:	31 Oct 2014 14:37
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2019 00:32
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/17840

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• Playing Outdoors: The importance of the city as a playground for skateboarding and parkour. (deposited 31 Oct 2014 14:37) [Currently Displayed]

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