Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 15: 327–340, 2000. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Skateboarders exploring urban public space: Ollies, obstacles and conflicts LIA KARSTEN * and EVA PEL Amsterdam Study Centre for the Metropolitan Environment (AME), University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands ( * author for correspondence, E-mail: c.j.m.karsten@frw.uva.nl) Received February 2000; Accepted June 2000 Abstract. This paper reports on an explorative study about skateboarding practices in Amsterdam. One indoor spot and nine street locations for skateboarding were observed and over thirty skaters were interviewed. The research questions concern the identity of the people involved, the group interactions, and the use of urban space and routes. The majority of the observed skateboarders are male middle-class youngsters. In this respect, the skateboarding scene is not very different from other forms of urban public play where men predominate. At the same time, however, skateboarding can be seen as a way of experimenting with new forms of masculinity. Since hanging about by adolescents is mainly a lower-class phenomenon, the middle-class status of the skateboarding youth is surprising. Notwithstanding their individual skateboarding acts, youngsters involved in skateboarding negotiate their claim on specific spaces in groups. The colonizing of public spaces for skateboarding does not remain free of conflict. Groups of skaters are continuously putting public spaces into and out of use. In a sense, skateboarders can be considered the nomads of the city. Their ‘traveling in packs’ results in a map of skate locations which is constantly changing. To understand the phenomenon of skateboarding, further research is needed, not only in Amsterdam but also in other cities and the suburbs. Key words: Amsterdam, gender relations, public space, skateboarding 1. Introduction . . . you see a post and you think, wow, I can ollie over that and then if I ride this way, I can boardslide or do a noseslide over that bench. You can do it backside or frontside. There are a thousand ways to approach an object . . . Skateboarders, roller bladers, or roller skaters exploring the city have become a familiar sight in the contemporary urban landscape. They are the subject of amusement but also the source of some annoyance. The way in which skaters use the city is essentially different from that of the rest of its inhabitants and visitors. Their ‘cool’ attitude and ingenious acrobatics catch the eye and form