Skateboarding and the City

Iain Borden is Professor of Architecture & Urban Culture, and Vice-Dean Education, at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture. Alongside numerous academic publications on architecture, cities, critical theory, public space, film and photography, Iain has been a skateboarder for over 40 years, and has advised numerous city authorities, charities, developers and the media about skateboarding culture and skateparks.

Skateboarding is both a sport and a way of life. Creative, physical, graphic, urban and controversial, it is full of contradictions - a billion-dollar global industry which still retains its vibrant, counter-cultural heart.Skateboarding and the City presents the only complete history of the sport, exploring the story of skate culture from the surf-beaches of '60s California to the latest developments in street-skating today. Written by a life-long skater who also happens to be an architectural historian, and packed through with full-colour images - of skaters, boards, moves, graphics, and film-stills - this passionate, readable and rigorously-researched book explores the history of skateboarding and reveals a vivid understanding of how skateboarders, through their actions, experience the city and its architecture in a unique way.

Global coverage, looking at skateboarding culture beyond Europe and the US - from China, Hong Kong, and Japan, to India, Afghanistan, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

IllustrationsAcknowledgments1. IntroductionSECTION ONESkateboard Scenes2. SkateboardsScooters and SurfingOld SchoolNew School3. Living by the BoardFreaks and GeeksEverything in BetweenHome Turf and Foreign LandsBeer and BarneysPositive and LovingMiddle Age ShredAll Girl Skate JamPolycultural Practices4. Affiliate WorldsBeing ProfessionalCompanies and BrandsOrganizations and ControlBoom Boom HuckJam5. Media WorldsTruth and Screw the ConsequencesWide-Angled ViewingSkateboarding at the MoviesVideo WorldsSocial MediaSECTION TWOSkateboarding6. Found SpaceAsphalt and Concrete WavesForeversInto the Deep EndBlue Tile Obsession7. SkatopiaConcrete UtopiaMutant Wood8. Skatepark RenaissanceA New DawnPlazas and PathsTerrain VagueDIYSkatepark Worlds9. Super-Architectural SpaceBody SpaceAsk the CopingFlowProjecting10. Skate and DestroyThe City is the HardwareZero Degree ArchitectureUrban RhythmsWriting the CityDecentred ObjectsSpeaking the City11. Movement Without WordsCritical CitizensBeyond the Shiny ProductGifts of FreedomBan ThisSkateboarding is Not a CrimeSECTION THREESkate and Create12. ArtistryGraphic DesignArtSkateable SculptureCreativity13. Do It For OthersPublic SpaceMoving HistoryHealthy LivingBuilding BusinessBuilding Lives14. Skateboarding - a Magnificent Life?ReferencesBibliographyIndex