Abstract
Issue Addressed: Skate parks not only provide a venue for leisure and physical activity, but can also act as an important social space for young people (Jones, 2011). However, skate parks are often subjected to negative community stereotyping (Goldenberg & Shooter, 2009; Bradley, 2010; Weston, 2010, Taylor & Khan, 2011), and there has been a lack of empirical evidence to date to refute or support conjecture about the presence of anti- or pro-social behaviors. Methods: A community survey gathered data on use and perceptions of a skate park within an inner metropolitan suburb of Western Australia. Respondents (n = 387) were asked about the frequency at the skate park of a range of potentially occurring behaviors of both an anti-social (e.g. graffiti, conflict) and pro-social (e.g. socialising, teaching) nature. Observational data of skate park use were also collected. Results: Pro-social behaviours were much more likely to be reported as frequently occurring, with all six of the pro-social behaviors (cooperation, learning from others, socialising with friends, respecting others, taking turns, teaching and helping) noted as occurring often by more than 50% of the respondents. The anti-social behaviours asked about in the survey fall within three thematic categories relating to physical space (egcrowding, collisions and injuries); property damage (eglittering, graffiti and vandalism); and drug use (smoking, drinking alcohol and illicit drug taking). Of these, behaviors relating to shared use of the physical space were more likely to be reported as occurring often or sometimes, in part reflecting the popular use of the relatively small skate park area. Overall, anti-social behaviors were more likely to be reported as rarely or never occurring compared with pro-social behaviors. Conclusions: Concerns about undesirable social behavior often underlie opposition to skate parks or provision for skaters in cities and suburbs. However, actual evidence supporting these assertions is scant, and in this study, pro-social behaviors were far more commonly observed than anti-social behavior. Considered skate park location and planning, and engagement of young people in their design can minimise many perceived problems. More broadly, the visible presence of skate parks and other youth amenity in our neighbourhoods, towns and cities, powerfully signals to young people that they too are welcome and a part of local place identity.
Highlights
The growing need for autonomy during adolescence and increasing socialisation encourage teenagers to spend more time away from home, but where can they go? As the typical playground caters to younger children, groups of adolescents using parks and public places are often stereotyped as being “up to no good”
The findings add support to an emerging body of literature pertaining to relative absence of anti-social behavior in skate park settings (Bradley, 2010; Taylor & Khan, 2011), and the presence of informal norms which often regulate the behavior of skate park users (Beal, 1996)
Future research could incorporate the use of interviews or focus groups to establish further details about pro and anti-social behaviors. This survey sought to explore the frequencies of pro-social and antisocial behaviors within an inner city urban skate park observed by skate park users and the community
Summary
The growing need for autonomy during adolescence and increasing socialisation encourage teenagers to spend more time away from home, but where can they go? As the typical playground caters to younger children, groups of adolescents using parks and public places are often stereotyped as being “up to no good”. While recognising that skate parks don’t meet the needs of all young people, there are usually few other community spaces where they can “hang out”, despite this being a vital part of adolescent social development (Chipuer & Pretty, 2000). Provision of these facilities is often under threat from community opposition, and some established skate parks have had to make way for retail and housing development (Save Claremont Skatepark, 2013). Skateboarding is more than just a form of physical activity or way to pass time, as it embodies a “culture” that participants identify with (Jones, 2011). Commercialization has appropriated this culture to some extent through branded skate clothing and corporate sponsorship of competitions, other aspects of the skateboarding culture are evident in the way skaters interact with other, and are increasingly expressed through their use of digital media to share images, video clips and reports of mastered tricks with each other (Jones, 2011)
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