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Study Design
Data Acquisition
Data Preparation and Manipulation
Spatial Analysis
Methodological and Operational Errors
Conclusion
References
The background research conduced for this project found that in the "nearly thirty years since skating first started attracting attention as an everyday recreational pursuit and a sport" it has "developed its own ethos, culture, uniform and language" (Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001). According to Sport and Recreation Victoria (2001) "the common view that skateboarding was only a fad, and a dangerous one at that, led some local councils to hesitate about providing facilities." This resulted in skateboarders being "pushed away from mainstream sports provision and, in order to test their new and expanding skills, they moved back on to the streets - where conflicts were waiting to happen." (Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001).
Skate parks also serve an important role of taking skateboarders out of
spaces where they are considered to "not belong" and put them in spaces
specifically designed for them. As
an example of this phenomenon, in the city of Vancouver a new skate
park was created, and "Park Board Chair, Anita Romaniuk, had this
to say about the project: 'The Park Board has been working for close to
ten years with various City departments, including Engineering and
Police, to find a suitable site for skateboarders in the downtown as an
alternative to the office and pedestrian plazas'" (Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, 2004). The picture
on the left here is a poster advertising the grand opening of the above
mentioned new so called "skateboard plaza." Also skate parks are
considered to "take skateboarders off the streets and draws them away from negative activity" (Vancouver City Council, 2003).
Skate parks are becoming increasingly popular infrastructure investment for municipalities (Vulliamy, 2003). Vulliamy (2003) states that "since the 1960s . . . Vancouver has emerged as an internationally recognized centre of skateboarding, and is the host city for the annual Slam City Jam@ professional skateboard competition, which attracts about 200 world-class professionals and close to 20,000 spectators." According to Vulliamy (2003) "in the late 1970s, Vancouver built one of the first skateboard bowls in Greater Vancouver at China Creek Park, which today it is considered very small and dated in design." Vulliamy (2003) states that in the years following 1970, "and primarily over the past decade, skateboard parks have been developed in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, North Vancouver, Surrey, White Rock and West Vancouver, with several of these municipalities working on or considering second, third or even fourth locations." According to Vulliamy (2003) in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), "there are now over thirty skateparks."
In the course of the research of what the GVRD and other municipalities in North America considered as appropriate criteria for the determination of a suitable location to place a new skate park, several common spatial and non-spatial criteria became apparent. These spatial criteria included proximity to public transportation, away from major roads, away from railroads, in an area of dense population of teen males, in a "central location", locating in an existing park, locating on school lands, locating on community centre lands, being located close to telephone or washroom facilities, be not too close to housing, and be at least 930 square meters in size (Barnum, 2002; City of San Gabriel, 2001; Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001; Vulliamy, 2003).
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Study Design
Data Acquisition
Data Preparation and Manipulation
Spatial Analysis
Methodological and Operational Errors
Conclusion
References
The background research conduced for this project found that in the "nearly thirty years since skating first started attracting attention as an everyday recreational pursuit and a sport" it has "developed its own ethos, culture, uniform and language" (Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001). According to Sport and Recreation Victoria (2001) "the common view that skateboarding was only a fad, and a dangerous one at that, led some local councils to hesitate about providing facilities." This resulted in skateboarders being "pushed away from mainstream sports provision and, in order to test their new and expanding skills, they moved back on to the streets - where conflicts were waiting to happen." (Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001).
Skate parks also serve an important role of taking skateboarders out of
spaces where they are considered to "not belong" and put them in spaces
specifically designed for them. As
an example of this phenomenon, in the city of Vancouver a new skate
park was created, and "Park Board Chair, Anita Romaniuk, had this
to say about the project: 'The Park Board has been working for close to
ten years with various City departments, including Engineering and
Police, to find a suitable site for skateboarders in the downtown as an
alternative to the office and pedestrian plazas'" (Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, 2004). The picture
on the left here is a poster advertising the grand opening of the above
mentioned new so called "skateboard plaza." Also skate parks are
considered to "take skateboarders off the streets and draws them away from negative activity" (Vancouver City Council, 2003). Skate parks are becoming increasingly popular infrastructure investment for municipalities (Vulliamy, 2003). Vulliamy (2003) states that "since the 1960s . . . Vancouver has emerged as an internationally recognized centre of skateboarding, and is the host city for the annual Slam City Jam@ professional skateboard competition, which attracts about 200 world-class professionals and close to 20,000 spectators." According to Vulliamy (2003) "in the late 1970s, Vancouver built one of the first skateboard bowls in Greater Vancouver at China Creek Park, which today it is considered very small and dated in design." Vulliamy (2003) states that in the years following 1970, "and primarily over the past decade, skateboard parks have been developed in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, North Vancouver, Surrey, White Rock and West Vancouver, with several of these municipalities working on or considering second, third or even fourth locations." According to Vulliamy (2003) in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), "there are now over thirty skateparks."
In the course of the research of what the GVRD and other municipalities in North America considered as appropriate criteria for the determination of a suitable location to place a new skate park, several common spatial and non-spatial criteria became apparent. These spatial criteria included proximity to public transportation, away from major roads, away from railroads, in an area of dense population of teen males, in a "central location", locating in an existing park, locating on school lands, locating on community centre lands, being located close to telephone or washroom facilities, be not too close to housing, and be at least 930 square meters in size (Barnum, 2002; City of San Gabriel, 2001; Sport and Recreation Victoria, 2001; Vulliamy, 2003).
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