Skateboarding has become a permanent and vibrant feature of the contemporary urban landscape. Creative, physical, graphic, controversial and full of contradictions, it is a sport and a way of life that has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, and yet remains as counter-cultural as ever.
Skateboarding and the City presents the only complete history of skateboarding, exploring the story of skate subculture from the surf-beaches of '60s California to the latest developments in street-skating today. Written by a life-long skater and architectural historian, this passionate, readable and rigorously-researched book reveals a vivid understanding of how skateboarders, through their actions, think about and experience the city in a unique way. Packed with full-colour pictures and interviews with the legends of the sport, and including new chapters on skate graphics, film and photography, this new edition is brought fully up-to-date with the last decade's worth of evolution in skateboarding styles and controversies. Ultimately, it shows how skateboarding culture can shed light on many of the most fascinating issues of urban life today.
About the Author
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.
Industry Reviews
The book is superbly researched, colorfully and beautifully illustrated, and thoroughly analyzes the topic. It has the physical appearance of an elegant coffee-table book combined with outstanding scholarship, effectively employing theory and empirical data, particularly the oral and written testimony of participants. * CHOICE *
There's absolutely no way I can do the work justice here - the book is incredibly thought-provoking, especially from the perspective of actually being a skateboarder. I highly recommend it. * Sidewalk Magazine (praise for Skateboarding, Space and the City, 2001) *
SA fine book that I recommend to any skateboarder who can read at a college level. * Big Brother Skateboarding Magazine (praise for Skateboarding, Space and the City) *
This is an amazing book and a real surprise ... A first. Pick it up and you'll learn something interesting about the cities you skate in; you might even learn something about skating itself. * Slap Skateboard Magazine (praise for Skateboarding, Space and the City) *
Skateboarders help us to think about buildings and their use. Borden argues that they draw our attention to the city as the site of perpetual change. * The Independent (praise for Skateboarding, Space and the City) *
Borden owes as much to 30 years of personal passion and experience as he does to any architectural or social theory. * The Architect's Journal (praise for Skateboarding, Space and the City) *
