How Tony Hawk Changed the Design of Cities

[@erikrichard413]

As a skater I loved this video! You should check out the story of LOVE park in Philadelphia and how its creator Ed Bacon grew fond of how skaters used the park, and he even skated in the park to protest the city's decision to ban skateboarding in the park. Also for anyone who liked this video, Thrasher has a video series called "This Old Ledge" that looks into the history and architecture of skateboarding's historic spots.

[@DarkOperative]

Ted Barrow! Yes, great series.

[@tonytwostep_]

Then the city tore it out for an underground parking lot and just a few months ago tore out the municipal plaza too. Philly as a city has never, in the past or present, embraced skateboarding like this video is claiming cities do...

[@ATLOffroad]

I met Tony Hawk 13 years ago during a speaking engagement in Atlanta. Even with all his success he was extremely busy being an advocate for outdoor play and community. I’m glad to hear that after all these years Tony is still supporting those who love being outside and having fun.

[@antoniohatch5170]

Did he help get some of the parks in the ATL area built?

[@guinsfan87]

I never realized how closely parkour and skateboarding mirrored each other until you started to described how the space and the sport feed off each other and how the space can cause an evolution in the sport etc. Great video

[@InventorZahran]

Skateboarding is basically parkour on wheels! Both activities are about moving fluidly through the urban environment, creatively repurposing built features, and challenging the conventional concept of how we get around in a city.

[@JohnFromAccounting]

Skateboarding is important for the urban fabric. Skate locations are a meeting place for the youth, and a good way to take first steps into what is now an olympic sport.

[@martinjanu9977]

A nice "third place" for the young

[@JeremySpidle]

It's a whole new world... "Back in my day," all you had to do to summon a swat team was to say, "skateboarders."

[@pauld2810]

This is exactly why I subscribe to this channel! You cover topics I'd never thought about. I never know what I'm going to learn each week, but whatever it is, it's going to be fascinating

[@StephenCoorlas]

As a skateboarder, designing and building ramps completely changed how I approached architecture. Skateboarding has definitely encouraged new perspectives toward urban public spaces, but there’s also a very interesting overlap between the rise in popularity of skateboarding with the architectural design trend of “continuous surfaces” during the mid 2000’s. There’s something to be explored there 🛹 🤘🏼

[@jessejones9061]

I am an architecture student and long-time scooter rider who grew up near Chicago. I wrote my college application essay on this topic, specifically the Chicago street jam (look it up, it’s worth it). That essay got me into the University of Miami with nearly a full scholarship. I have fond memories going street riding with friends and I’ve had sessions at all the spots you showed in Chicago. Thank you for bringing the benefits of skateparks to the masses and, more importantly, architects!

[@chrisclouds4182]

The Burnside skate park in Portland, Oregon has a cool history and is considered the first DIY skatepark project. Growing up playing an insane amount of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, it was a surreal and satisfying moment to visit there for the first time 20+ years after playing the game. It's a kinda hidden under a bridge and has more of a closed off or protected feeling. Great video!

[@andorfan270]

Jacksonville, home of possibly the oldest skate park (Kona) is FINALLY allowing skateboarding downtown and even building a new skate park into the system of connecting parks they're developing. It's going to be called Artist Park and I'm super excited to see it come in!

[@Th3EpitapH]

which jacksonville lol

[@andorfan270]

@@Th3EpitapH the real one, in Florida

[@Czechbound]

Tony visited the skate park beside my house in suburban, post Communist Prague. CZ. It was kinda bizarre to see such a legend at the park I pass everyday. Skaters came from all over Prague to see him and his crew. That was 2015

[@MelvinLim]

it's amazing to see how this topic being discussed on this channel. I wrote about the same subject back in university in 2008 and also referenced Prof Iain Borden's books "Another Pavement, Another Beach" and "Body Architecture". I thought this subject will forever be buried in the mountain of sub-cultures but watching this video really makes me glad I wrote about it. Thank you!

[@grocerbear9700]

cool video! i like the crossover, figured you were into skating since you decorate with those decks on the wall

[@EugenijusKrenis]

Tony Hawk's Pro Urban Planner

[@CakeboyRiP]

This should be illigal. Your videos are way too good and entertaining

[@JayBirdJay]

A friend of mine pointed out that libraries are one of the few spaces that you can exist in without having to pay money. I had never considered the value of a skate park as another alternative. A zero admission price place where you can just _exist_. Great vid!

[@alecbeck523]

Love this

[@DarkOperative]

Great way of looking at/thinking about it. Thank you.

[@Lolwutfordawin]

What about Public parks? Benches in tree-lined promenades where people hang out and chat? Or do American cities not have those anymore?

[@JayBirdJay]

Some parks require admission fees, but for the free parks, yeah! you're totally correct. They are another option

[@TornaitSuperBird]

@@LolwutfordawinNope. Especially not on the west coast. Third places are dying out.

[@yacan1]

Really awesome video, thank you for covering this. Tony hawk helped fund a park near me in Carnegie, PA. Met some of the most amazing and wonderful people in my life at that park, really amazing talent on display.

[@Proudly.Somnolent]

Love how you threw in the pic of the Carlsbad gap. Recognized that spot instantly.

[@alecbeck523]

Perfect choice. I almost didn’t notice this, but when the Carlsbad Gap is on the screen, if you look closely you can see a MINI Carlsbad Gap tech deck toy feature someone placed at the base of the gap! So not only is the spot being featured, but there’s a mini model of the same space in that photo! So cool.

[@TheoLcr]

Awesome video! My 2 favorite things, skateboarding and design, love it!

[@Itsfalcon9]

The way he broke down why skaters skate, broke me that was insane and such a beautiful way to put it

[@alecbeck523]

Seriously!

[@nixonhoover2]

Pretentious much?

[@sharpie660]

I've long been interested in the environmental gestalt shift that happens when you put on a skating lens, and I also feel like that shift is embodied when you look at spaces through the lens of first-person shooters. I grew up playing the Tony Hawk games, and though I never became a skater I became familiar with the act of looking at spaces from that lens. I did, however, begin designing levels ("maps") for games set in urban (or at least densely populated) environments like Team Fortress 2 and Counter-strike: Global Offensive. Similarly, when you're a mapmaker, environments undergo that shift and architecture that was intended for one use is transformed. Windows and sightlines take on new meaning; walls, ledges and hip-height obstacles are cover; game objectives define certain "spots" and "setups" that differ from everyday use. I now love walking through back alleys and industrial streets for the wealth of interesting and unique environments they offer - I don't map anymore, but I still get an indescribable delight out of well-used spaces that would offer great gameplay opportunities if they were translated into the editor. Beyond that, I think they also share one key aspect with skateparks not discussed in the video: how authority and power define what is "legitimate" use of space. For decades, skating has been seen as a public nuisance, a scourge of the streets. That obviously continues to this day, as grindblockers are visible in Federal Plaza in this very video, despite its famed status (I note that some key ledges don't have them, but this is nonetheless a way to control space and its use). Moreover, the particularly intensely urban environments favored by street skaters tend to be sites of concentrated money and power - the exact tools one can use employ to control space. Skateparks, in some measure, were attempts to excise the skaters from the urban fabric and relocate them elsewhere. It's a carrot that was accompanied by sticks like skating bans, security enforcement, and hostile architecture. The nature of the skatepark has indeed changed as a maturing skating culture (and softening public approach to skating) reclaims the space as a site of community as illustrated in the video, but its origins (and, to an extent, ongoing status) should not be entirely forgotten. Video game maps, particularly for shooters, share this. Accepting for a moment the interchangeability of real and digital space (the communal aspects of digital space is another shared aspect, and definitely worth an essay unto itself), there have also been harsh social restrictions on the importation of real environments into the digital sphere. Like skateboarding, shooting games are closely associated with young boys and men, but also with social deviancy like crime. A young mapper, intrigued by the new possibilities of space opened by their hobby, often quite understandably start toying with the familiar - their home, their neighborhood, their school. They recreate these environments, understanding their details in new lights, redefining them by the structures of the game. Unfortunately, this common and mostly innocent activity has also come to be associated with the rise in mass shootings. Right from the beginning of the current cultural era, the Columbine Massacre, video games and maps supposedly created to plan attacks have been implicated in radicalizing youth. The status of these mapping activities is still highly contested as the cultural profile of shooting games (including eSports) and mass shootings continue to rise, but things have definitely softened over the years. I was really glad you mentioned video games in this video, as their role in bringing appreciation to both skateboarding and space itself is multifaceted. Hopefully this short piece will make others consider skateboarding, games, and space even more deeply :)

[@christopherstephenjenksbsg4944]

When I was a kid (1960s) we would make skateboards by fastening a board to an old pair of skates. They didn't work very well, but they were precursors to the wonderful skateboards of today. That being said, I know nothing about skateboarding as it has developed, but I love the concept of these skateboard parks, and the way they integrate street life back into urban neighborhoods. I grew up in a brownstone neighborhood in Manhattan, and we used the street furniture in ways that I'm sure were never intended by the original builders of the genteel houses of the mid-19th century. We would block off the street with trash cans and play street hockey on roller skates. We used the high, New York-style stoops for stoop ball, while the other stoops were used as spectator seating. The elderly Irish and Puerto Rican landladies, who ran their brownstones as rooming houses, would always be on their stoops keeping an eye on everybody. Even the Police Athletic League programs, run in the summer, would use the street in the same way, which is why we were never harassed by cops. It was a wonderful urban neighborhood, full of life and the noise of kids playing and arguing. (We didn't have any umpires.) The neighborhood has since been gentrified several times over. It looks beautiful, with tree-lined streets and restored brownstones, but every time I visit I'm depressed because that street life is gone. I much prefer the rough-and-tumble street life of the 1960s to the pristine neighborhoods of today.

[@nickclark2278]

As a town planner…. I love your videos… but this one was the most interesting for me…. Really gave me a new perspective

[@Ben_B_Artist]

Yesss, I've been waiting for this video! Ever since I read the Iain Borden book you referenced 😎👍

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

I live in a smallish Ohio city that until recently had a problem with local kids making noise and damaging steps/railings/etc. when skating in the downtown area. Then they put in a very nice skate/bike park nearby. Overnight the complaints went away because the kids are now skating at the park, and having a great time, and leaving downtown alone. I go by that place many times and there is almost always at least a small group there, on skateboards, bikes, or both. It always makes me smile, and is a great example of instead of just saying “don’t do this,” saying “here’s a place we made specifically for you-go have fun.”

[@loribriggs494]

Nice work Stew. Very interesting video and it brought a lot of memories back.

[@JoshBCamp]

This is a really great video about architecture and how people use it. I think there is a lot of discussion on what is intended by an architect, but how people decide to use the space in alternative ways is just as interesting.

[@jonray8429]

I love all your videos, but this was a fun surprise. Such a cool thing to think about - great channel!

[@ZachComa]

Steward was clearly a fish out of water at the skate parks, but it really made for new and interesting content. It brought attention to urban design considerations I hadn't even thought about before.

[@getrealnow73]

great subject matter. as all ways. thank you. I'm a roller skater. Missed you on a board though:(

[@diametheuslambda]

If we're going there, there's probably topic space for parkour as critique of and response to the built environment.

[@evermar1]

Mies Van der Rohe, skate park designer! I love it.

[@Josh-yr7gd]

This video would not have been complete if Stewart didn't ride a skateboard. You didn't let me down!

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

i think all this is why, even as a non-skater, i think skateboarding is so great

[@samdaniels2]

There is a huge paralell between the skating community and the Parkour community. I'd argue that city architecture is even more integral to Parkour, seen as you can't do Parkour without urban environments.

[@israeldelarosa5461]

In Tony Hawk American Wasteland, your character actually meets a Parkour master and learns how to Parkour from him.

[@JamisonMyth]

hey thanks for making this video! If you ever decide to revist skateboarding as a topic, you'll probably be interested in reading Ocean Howell's writing about skateboarding and the city, as well as looking into DIY skate park culture with examples of DIY-turned-official parks like Burnside in Portland, Treasure Island in SF, or the countless still rogue parks around the world.

[@TrailRat2000]

Love this video but I remember when I was growing up I remember a lot of measures being put in place to prevent skateboarders and skaters. It's why I took up mountain biking. Love to see you do a video on preventative architecture designed to inhibit skating/boarders.

[@klana6755]

would love to see one on parkour/free-running

[@blowenfuse]

A fun crossover between things I love. My interest in architecture came from skating. The relationship between elements in public spaces and the buildings surrounding sparked an intrigue that has become a passion. I think it often overlooked how different demographics look at spaces, most notably from an accessibility standpoint.

[@smtsjhr]

This was a very refreshing perspective on skateboarding that gives respect and appreciation to a profoundly unique sport that is typically considered a "crime". There was no point in the video where Stuart downplays the sport, and he only elevated the sport by putting it in its true perspective. Much respect to Stuart for this beautiful exposition!

[@bloomingtonparkour7931]

This is so cool. If you really follow up on the idea Play and the City, you should interview some Parkour groups. A surprising amount has been written about the impact of Parkour on approaches to public architecture. A lot of Lawrence Halprin's (Freeway Park) or M Paul Friedberg's (Peavey Plaza, various NYC parks) designs end up being popular with Traceurs.

[@digitalsarcomere]

Great video. Would love to see you look at Lisses & Every near Paris in relation to the architecture influencing the birth of Parkour.

[@astral_brain]

Great video! When I was a 14 year old skater I always said I'm going to become an architect so that I can create spaces to skate. Fast forward 15 years, that became a reality when I first saw traces of wax and scraped metal on a ledge on a parking garage we designed. I even skated it myself which was a weird meta moment.

[@TheValyGaming]

Oh damn, never expected to spot Zagreb at 4:15 :D

[@PhilipMurphyExtra]

Never thought I get this topic but it is interesting.

[@noaccount4]

Ah. Round my area they built this large flat square in front of a library. Skaters colonised the square, and when the local council found out, they started donating wooden pallets and ramps to help make the square more interesting for the skaters. Now there's a bit of love-hate relationship between the council and the skaters, with the square being used for a market on the weekends and the skaters getting to reclaim it on the week days. Hopefully there is a future for them to share the square but I doubt it

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Wow, one of those "Guild of Ambience" type channels has to do up one of those "summer nights sk8rs outside cozy sleeping environmental noises + lo-fi" fantasy scenarios with binaural beats or whatever that run for 9hrs. One of my Proustian sense memories is the sound of a solo board in my vicinity, maybe drifting in thru my window on the breeze, running down the pavement on a midsummer night at 3am when the darkness has a soft velvety quality & the air is warm fragrant. That sound will bring a lifetime (so far) of those nights back to me, along with tugging on very specific other threads of recollection + emotion. Mostly longing...almost incoherent, wistful longing. I heard it so rarely for years after so many summers that had them soundtrack the season 24/7, then they faded to occasional random events, but I'm thankful to be hearing many more since the Demic Of The Pan. Hope it returns even more. Around sk8rs my entire life in a small conservative city with aggressive cops + fun infrastructure where most of the Misfit Genres hung together bc there weren't enough of us as sub-sub-collectives to turn our particular slivers of weird into their own cliques, esp with so many normies willing to throw slurpees at us or chase us with intent to harm -- us on foot, them in pickup trucks -- so unless you were a Neo Nasty Skin we were more or less all friendly with each other, for the most part. We showed up at the same shows a lot of the time, & in winter, house parties could have guests as diverse as committed metal-heads to serious hip hopheads, all flavours of punk + post, goths that could be in any VtM clan, open-minded techno or philosophy geeks, neo-hippies, ravers/House hold-outs/club kids, theatre kids, alt/slacker/gonzo/rrrriottt/ pre + post + mid-grunge rock music lovers, college radio DJ types, & basically a lot of vulnerable marginalized kids who faced some sort of prejudice or intersectional mélange of things the normies could pick on. Safety in numbers, back then. We had a pretty strong lineage of sk8rs, too, ofc. The first guys who brought it to town + the first girl accepted by those dudes as a "real boarder" were older but still around on the scene; we knew their names & stories/mythos, + any of us who stood out as talented at street art +/or skating were known to them. When some became parents +/or got jobs with some power to advocate for policy, we got sk8 parks. Which was a huge civics victory to the Misfit Demographic. But I didn't realize street sk8ing would become an endangered practice. The cop hassles got worse, even, bc they felt more justified "defending" city infrastructure since they felt the sk8 parks were designated the only places to sk8. So much wheels-on-pavement noise in this brought back so much. Sorry this is so long. Would love other sk8/sk8-adjacent folks to post. Love reading gnarly stories. As we used to say l8r sk8r Hope y'all thrive Keep taking back the streets!

[@aes53]

Great video Stewart. I am forever amazed at your complex take on architecture. You might be surprised to know that Mies was a Hugh skateboarder. In fact it is because of him that most modern skate boards have a cigar holder.😂

[@lamarlockhart-smith8191]

This video was great! Henri lefebvre would be proud. You should look into the niche of DIY skateparks and their history. Would be such a great video learning about Burnside skatepark or all the DIY skateparks that popped up during Covid. As a long time skateboarder, it is one of the most interesting parts of the culture.

[@skylarking12]

Cranky old man here: I love it that skateparks exist. I owned a board in my youth, when clay was just starting to be replaced with urethane... they were a new thing. So I can relate. But: I'm dismayed by skaters that damage public areas with their sport; grinding on railings and benches and curbs that were placed with care, and craftsmanship, and at no small expense. Your video of the granite in the parks shows the damage grinding does. Back in the day this became a very big problem for municipal spaces and places like the federal plaza, hence the no skater signs. What I always resented about skaters was they would breeze into a place, tear it up, and roll away without qualms or guilt about the damage they left behind, the degraded aesthetics of the intended designs, and the continuous repair expenses it burdened innocent people and institutions with. I'm not against creative, adaptive re-use of a public space, but I am against vandalism. Skateparks are the release valve to let skaters enjoy what they do without damaging public spaces. I support their construction and use. I do not condone or sympathize with skaters who have those opportunities, and still choose to damage a place for their own fun.

[@JamieBarnes11]

I think that street skateboarding leads to an exploration of a city which is close to the Situationist concept/action of Dérive due to how much it breaks people outside of designated paths or functions assigned to urban spaces when people are out searching for and then skating different spots. So, it's cool to see someone from a background in architecture cover skating.

[@joshuahaymann1017]

where can I find the "public space" t-shirt the person in the video is wearing?

[@adamgregoryfogel]

Awesome look at urban planning and inclusivity! Can’t wait to see you skating around Chicago, Stewart 😂 13:01

[@alecbeck523]

He’s a natural!

[@jandraelune1]

They are not just for skateboards to use for tricks but also rollerblades

[@spaguettoltd.7933]

Such a cool video

[@dont_hit_trees]

Every millennial who had a PlayStation - Tony Hawk is responsible for everything skateboard. 😂

[@turbo_brian]

I mean, it was popular on n64 and pc too. Xbox I think was late to the game and came in around thps4 or so I think

[@dont_hit_trees]

@@turbo_brian Woosh

[@drommelsdebaron]

Nah man u better look up Rodney Mullen

[@dont_hit_trees]

@@drommelsdebaron Think, then thumbs…

[@darinbauer8122]

We had the coin op *"720 (degrees,)"*.

[@robertrusso877]

I remember a story about a park in Philadelphia that was so unused it became basically a place to buy and sell drugs. It became so bad it was surrounded by a chain link fence for years until the city hired an architect to come up with a plan - he brought back the park but with obstacles for skaters and it became a thriving active part of the city for skaters and non skaters. People would take their lunch breaks their just to watch the entertainment. At least that’s how I remember the story …

[@nixonhoover2]

Fake news.

[@meberg500]

Wow, a 15 minute video about urban skate parks without even a mention of the "skateboards stoppers" that are practically ubiquitous in non-skate park areas that lend themselves well to railslides and grinding? I saw plenty in the video with the notable exception of Federal Plaza - where we were shown damage caused by so many grinds!

[@sethcrain1427]

The thumbnail featuring "The Flamingo" made me think this might be about the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise, bc Chicago was a map in THPS4 I vividly remember which prominently displayed the statue. I thought this video might be about how the video game reimagined the built environment as it would benefit skaters (also redesigning for greater effect) and might be a great example of how video game architectural design could foster thoughts of urban design, and how it might be made more hospitable to pedestrians-even those on wheels! haha (I know it served that purpose for me as I was driven around my own rural/suburban town as a child) But honestly, this video having a real life Tony Hawk as a focal point was even more interesting. As an avid pedestrian I love thinking about the ripple effects of pedestrian-focused infrastructure in all its' forms! Cheers!

[@nacoran]

Looking at this gives me a bunch of questions... outside of the skatepark, how could you design areas (bike and hiking paths) in ways so skateboarding doesn't damage them or cause conflicts between various forms of use (looking at granite surfaces, for instance, could you add some sort of strip like a stair nosing, that could protect the granite and periodically be replaced, but keeping in mind that if it's on a granite bench where people also sit, you don't want a metal strip that is going to get hot in the sun and burn the back of people's legs.) I'd love to see someone get into how you make a place more useful for various forms of recreation (I know a lot of friction between skaters and other people is also the noise they make... that might be something to address). And then, looking at those skate parks, I know that you want smooth surfaces, but how could you make them more permeable and add some green to them. I know roots can damage concrete, but those places looked like they would benefit from some shade and no better, or maybe even worse, at preventing runoff than a typical parking lot. You mentioned that they were designed so pedestrians could cross them, but really didn't show that. /As someone in my 50s with asthma and arthritis, what I really want is adult sized swings. :p

[@chadkarecki9496]

Skaters love how granite slides, they do not want to slide a covering. You can't make the concrete pervious and skateable at the same time. Pervious concrete is very rough and and is terrible for skating. If you want you can design the park to pitch and the drains to go to an a permeable location to avoid going into the sewer system. Introducing root systems near concrete you want to last is not a good idea.

[@nacoran]

I was thinking more about slopes and spots where there was permeable ground. I agree, most of the permeable surfaces wouldn't be great for skating, but you could break up the skating area a bit with a permeable path for pedestrians. Some trees send their roots down more than out. As for grinding on granite surfaces, at a skating area that's not a big issue, but if they are damaging granite in other places that's a problem. There has to be a happy medium. @@chadkarecki9496

[@geistnation5913]

You explained our subculture so very well!! Thanks for advocating

[@christophercasey7388]

Now the next video has to be about parkour interacting with the built environment. One area you didn't touch on is the design of urban spaces to be skate proof (and/or vagrant proof), consciously excluding the skate community (bulky metal brackets on benches, etc.).

[@desu38]

7:40 Damn, that is one cool dog

[@aaronkaser3328]

That skate park downtown Chicago is always busy... So many different races and ethnicities. 30 years ago I thought of skaters at a white race sport, but living in Chicago, I see that isnt true... this was a fun video.

[@gabriellaforce2041]

Great video! I skate since the early 90, and I am a urban planner. So I love this video ! I got a really nerdy question that maybe you could answer. The ledge at the Federal Building are not « skate stop » witch is really rare in a city! I always wondered if it was because it is a historical building of Mies? I think so but never got a confirmation. Thanks!

[@Ilyak1986]

So here I am Doing everything I can Holding on to what I am Pretending I'm a superman...

[@Aridiki]

I love this

[@darinbauer8122]

It might be possible to build cities keeping lunchbreak activity and bike to work accessibility at an extreme maximum, ensuring people will want to hang there & work. I ate in the office after break, I think was on the multihedronizer climbing for forty minutes...

[@switchback3638]

Skateboarding has deep ties to Urban Design. There is a video of the great Architect Edmond Bacon on a skateboard in Love Park, Philadelphia, in an act of protest towards the banning of skateboarding in the plaza he designed. Another interesting case of Urban Design and skateboarding is the Long Live South Bank movement in the UK, where locals fought for the redevelopment of the historic southbank skatespot, and to this day exists to protect the creative freedom that evolves in such spaces. "This space has empowered generations of physical, visual and collaborative expression and informed and directed the lives of people from all walks of life. This world famous landmark and cultural icon must be preserved for future generations to flourish."

[@TalynWuff]

Very nice.

[@brianwalkosz9567]

I used to take the METRA from the north burbs to downtown when I was a kid.... skating all weekend ..the Picasso though!! I didn't realize how fuckin sick it was to skate artwork of Pablo! I'm sure he would love it!

[@JonathanCabot]

Would love to see what you think of the tony hawk video game renditions of chicago

[@ChristianBehnke]

Not a skater myself, but appreciate the alternative view of architectural design!

[@ed_halley]

I can totally hear the enthusiasm for skateboarding as a sport and pastime, but I also empathize with those who see those "love marks" along the edges of benches and planters as tacky vandalism, the jarring grinding and slapping noises of hard boards against pavement where others just want to relax, and with those who are not happy with sidewalk bombers hurtling toward them or into the cross-traffic at dangerous speeds. Please keep building the parks designed and designated for skating.

[@JeremySpidle]

Boomers used to PROSECUTE my generation for Skateboarding. Its taken several generations of younger voters to change the boomer-skate-hate I grew up with.

[@Herowebcomics]

Wow! This is awesome! ... unfortunately some people would like to know how how to stop skate boarders from skating though!😅

[@brandoniswhoiam]

I just think of how some ledges and planter boxes in the only Tony Hawk games have half-pipes. 😂

[@barryrobbins7694]

To me, Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974 is the ultimate in physicality that repurposes the urban environment. I highly recommend the documentary “Man on Wire” (2008).

[@shsueh21]

you need to read Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body by Lain Borden. Explains how Mies infuenced modern day street skating.

[@shsueh21]

nevermind, typed this comment before seeing the whole video. you have read it

[@moonposture5542]

from this point forward in civilization every new city that’s built will reference Tony Hawk games

[@StuffandThings_]

Okay now imagine having a skateboard lane on sidewalks, like a bike lane but for skateboards... also you could put some basic obstacles there for a fun journey. It would be a way to encourage non car travel, and make commuting fun.

[@Hyperventilacion]

Where I live skaters just use the bike lane with no problem, I even see people commuting in their skateboards often.

[@annakissed3226]

I've just watched this on your Nebula channel. But Nebula doesn't have a forum to leave commentary and feedback. So I had to find you here & subscribe. I was wondering if you have done any work on the graf community and there interaction with the city, As they are often seen as a nuisance like skate boarders by city planners. But they are also celebrated in art spaces, witness works by banksy and by in the sixties by authors & commentators like Simon & Garfunkel who in their poem explore "the sounds of silence" and that Graf is a form of Samizdat in "the words of the Prophets are written on the Subway Walls & Tenemant Halls"

[@HellaHangers]

We call Federal Plaza "PO" for that small Post Office building there.

[@lenabanx6221]

Ive never been a skateboarder but I never understood when people or cities would interfere with people skateboarding in PUBLIC spaces! Like its basically like buying a gift for someone and then being upset about what they choose to do with it or use it. They have every right to occupy that space as anyone else! And the community that develops is strangely wholesome from my experience. They support young kids trying it for the first time, will cheer each other on, give pointers, and look out for each other and bad actors. Many guys I knew growing up attribute having somewhere to go everyday (skatepark) where there were people older than them that helped steer them in the right direction being the sole reason they never got into drugs, too.

[@DarkOperative]

If only every non-skater could see it precisely the way you do... Amazing!

[@nixonhoover2]

Because they damage the surfaces.

[@lenabanx6221]

@@nixonhoover2 if we are basing who should or shouldn’t be able to utilize public spaces based on the amount of damage that will be done then we should be focusing on the most egregious offenders first and get rid of cars and the car-centric mindset that permeates American communities. Not only does it damage our communities because it takes away huge swaths of land that could be used to foster closer relationships within our communities through recreational alternatives, it stunts economic growth from businesses that could occupy these areas. Then you’ve got to consider the diminished quality of life for the people living in the area as a result of the natural landscape and biodiverse plant/animal life that is destroyed only to be covered with concrete and asphalt. Oh and don’t forget about the harmful pollution that will be created from the decades of car exhaust. Seriously though, I’m just getting started. There is the financial burden that car infrastructure inevitably creates because as we have learned - roads require a ton of upkeep and only last about 30 years and even less if it happens to be a popular route for semi trucks. There is literally no possible way to pay for all the maintenance costs that are currently needed in the US without basically doubling our current national debt. (Don’t quote me on that, just know the costs are astronomically high). And that’s what’s CURRENTLY needed. Every year there will be countless miles of roadways that will reach the end of their lifespan and be littered with safety hazards. I truly could keep going on and on but I’ve got shit to do rn and I have the feeling that you get the point…

[@nickuhland7148]

I want to watch your videos but I cannot take seriously anyone who wakes up everyday and greets the world with a mustache.

[@RENO_K]

NOW DO ONE FOR PARKOUR

[@Tnttim6]

Man you guys need to come visit here in Metairie LA surrounding New Orleans there's not 1 single park here in Metairie it sucks cuz I've talked to bunches of people I've even tried reaching out to the Jefferson parish president and parks and rec and there not gonna listen to just me 😢sucks man we have no trails parks nothing for the kids and skaters and bmxers anyway just thought I'd throw that out to you guys anyway stay safe out there and I guess all you guys can do is wish us luck that we get one . One of these years

[@Bonserak23]

I am curious what Stewart's closet looks like......I was friends with this guy in Portland, OR and his whole closet was just black pants and T-shirts, and a couple of black pea coats lol.

[@ToastedFox]

OMG I WAS JUST TALKING TO A BUDDY SAYING “FUCK WALKABLE CITIES, GIVE ME SHREDDABLE CITIES!”

[@MarkPemble]

@4:03 Trucks are aluminum. Not steel.

[@yellowflowerorangeflower5706]

Cool

[@reyesbb]

bro on yappington city

[@exileisland2675]

If you aren't shopping or going to work it seems cities don't want people around at all. If you can find a way to enjoy a city for free they get mad.

[@stepheneson4107]

I confess that I'm not a skater. That being said, other than the brief euphemism "love mark" not one mention was made of the incredible damage skateboarding does to spaces not designed for it. The church I attend, with its brick front steps, iron handrails, sloped parking lots, stone walls surrounding the cemetery, etc. is a magnet for young teens whose skateboarding chips the brick, scrapes the protective paint, wears the asphalt sealcoating and more. I recognize the value, utility and outright fun skateboarding offers its fans-- and clearly it's not going away-- but I wish Mr. Hawk and other key players of the sport would find a way to productively address this.

[@alecbeck523]

Providing alternative, free and legal spaces is the current best idea. Any other suggestions?

[@Aphelion969]

I am interacting with the content

[@catmathews]

You have to do parkour!

[@PipMiister]

🌻

[@Tnttim6]

I know he's a good dude.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

"How Chicago Solved It's Sk8boarding Problem" Hopefully by recognizing sk8boarding is a gift from the Divine to be worshipped thru practice + appreciation & not a "problem" to be "solved"? I'll watch the video to see if I'm right.

[@sarahwatts7152]

Were they not skating in the plaza because it's banned? Seems weird not to get any footage of the skaters using the architecture

[@InventorZahran]

skamtebord