Contesting public space skateboarding, urban development, and the politics of play

Recent urban development schemes seek to produce new public spaces for the pursuit of leisure. Tourism, entertainment, and consumption figure among the intended uses of these increasingly policed and regulated spaces. The making of leisure cities takes place through dynamics of controlled inclusion and the masking of social disparities. However, challenges to the production of leisure spaces abound as everyday practices and aesthetic interventions also shape the urban landscape. Contestation unfolds at ground level through the embrace of public space as a site of spontaneous acts of creativity and grassroots projects invested in the widening of public participation. This study focuses on skateboarders’ claims to the city through a survey of the multiple forces engaged in the production and regulation of skateboarding spaces in Chicago. Through participatory research, it chronicles social dynamics of contestation and accommodation grounded in the production of planned and found spaces. The study discusses skateboarding as an expression of creative play and critical intervention that envisions alternative built environments and inclusive social practices.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Vivoni Gallart, Francisco S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Nederveen-Pieterse, Jan
• Denzin, Norman K.
• Wilson, David
• Dill, Brian J.

• skateboarding
• urban space
• built environment

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Francisco S. Vivoni Gallart

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16735

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/16735