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Skateboarders are working with landscape architects to design skateparks that more precisely match their tastes and needs. After a quarter century of skatepark construction, today some of the skateboarders are the landscape architects.
The battlelines are familiar to anyone who?EUR??,,????'?????<
On one side are skateboarders, mostly young, excited over the prospect of custom-built bowls, ramps and runs rendered in smooth concrete. On the other side are homeowners who condemn the plans as the first step on the road to ruin.
In July, the war moved to a Welsh village where the River Dee drifts by a 13th-century castle.
The proposed skatepark is a ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Skatepark design focuses on skateboarding, but the parks attract BMX riders too. Like many other parks around the globe, this southern Nevada facility allows bikers. This rider is pulling a backside double peg grind.Photos courtesy of SITE Design Group The skatepark already has funding, but opponents promise to fight it every step of the way. Like hundreds of other communities across the globe, the village of Connah?EUR??,,????'?????< Residents of California, Oregon, Canada, Australia and dozens of European communities would probably smile at the ruckus the project is causing in the rural U.K. They?EUR??,,????'?????< A skater completes a heel flip as he sails over steps at the Las Vegas area?EUR??,,????'?????< Skateparks Have History What might be called the first wave of skatepark design rolled across the U.S. during the 1970s. These were mostly private, fee-based operations that were run like theme parks. The more ambitious 1970s skateparks featured concrete bowls that gave skaters an accessible and dry place to indulge their thirst for empty swimming pools. Inspired by concrete drainage pipes, this full-pipe is one of a new generation of skatepark features that are based on terrain explored by skateboarders in their own communities. The seating on either side gives good views of the swimming-pool-like bowls on both ends of the pipe. Wally Hollyday, who still designs skateparks in Southern California, was part of the first wave. The sport exploded as urethane technology created better wheels. For the first time, a small number of skateboarders launched to celebrity status. The 2001 film Dogtown and Z-Boys paid tribute to the era and featured 70s skaters like Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Tom Sims. For all its success, this first skatepark phase ended abruptly when liability insurance undermined business. The development marked the end of the private, for-profit skatepark, but the not the end of skateparks themselves.
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The skatepark already has funding, but opponents promise to fight it every step of the way.
Like hundreds of other communities across the globe, the village of Connah?EUR??,,????'?????<
Residents of California, Oregon, Canada, Australia and dozens of European communities would probably smile at the ruckus the project is causing in the rural U.K. They?EUR??,,????'?????<
What might be called the first wave of skatepark design rolled across the U.S. during the 1970s. These were mostly private, fee-based operations that were run like theme parks.
The more ambitious 1970s skateparks featured concrete bowls that gave skaters an accessible and dry place to indulge their thirst for empty swimming pools.
Wally Hollyday, who still designs skateparks in Southern California, was part of the first wave. The sport exploded as urethane technology created better wheels. For the first time, a small number of skateboarders launched to celebrity status. The 2001 film Dogtown and Z-Boys paid tribute to the era and featured 70s skaters like Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Tom Sims.
For all its success, this first skatepark phase ended abruptly when liability insurance undermined business. The development marked the end of the private, for-profit skatepark, but the not the end of skateparks themselves.
The idea of banks of concrete just for skating was too seductive, and in 1979 a milestone was reached with the construction of Derby Park in Santa Cruz, Calif. Created by landscape architect Ken Wormhoudt, the park is primitive by today?EUR??,,????'?????<
Ken Wormhoudt passed away in 1997, and his son Zach continues his work?EUR??,,????'?????<
Another landmark took place in August of 1993, when the city of Huntington Beach opened what today is an almost microscopic facility at Murdy Park. Today it?EUR??,,????'?????<
Followed a year later by a slightly bigger skatepark, the Huntington Beach facilities drew skaters from across the region and showed other cities that lawsuits wouldn?EUR??,,????'?????<
Landscape architect Steve Rose of the park planning firm Purkiss Rose-RSI (sold in February to Berkeley-based MIG) recalled the heady days when building skateparks amounted to an international news story.
Other cities were still skittish about liability issues. Design firms were too. Then in 1998, new California legislation reclassified skateboarding as an inherently ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Other states have comparable laws. Indiana, for example, passed similar legislation in 2001. ?EUR??,,????'?????<
When Rose retired earlier this year, the Purkiss Rose firm had exactly zero lawsuits associated with its skatepark work.
Skateboarders for years have been improvisers, constructing large and small ramps in backyards using lumber and plywood. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before they grabbed bags of concrete and actually tried to build their own permanent parks.
That bridge was crossed around 1990, when a group of Oregon skaters including Mark ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Working on one section at a time, the skatepark had no official sanction but soon grew into a West Coast must-stop on the itinerary of any traveling skateboarder. Eventually recognized by the city, Burnside is one of the most photographed skateparks in the world and unique for the under-bridge location that makes use of space than might otherwise have gone unused.
Skatepark veteran Wally Hollyday said the Burnside project tore down the wall that had always stood between skateboarders and the professional design community. Today, of course, no one would think of sitting down to draw up a park design without meeting with local skaters.
There are close to 2,000 skate parks across the country, more than five times as many as in 1996, the Tony Hawk Foundation estimates. Together with inline skating, skateboarding is a $3-to-5 billion industry in annual sales. Close to 13 million skateboarders are scattered in small towns and urban areas across the country.
With park facilities often crowded to capacity, skater advocates suggest that cities would do well to build more skateparks. The benefits are many, they say?EUR??,,????'?????<
Today, many municipalities are well beyond the debate over whether to build or whether skateparks will leave them open to lawsuits (the record is pretty clear that it?EUR??,,????'?????<
With a total of 10 parks open, Las Vegas, Nev. would seem to be saturated with skateboard venues. In a sense that?EUR??,,????'?????<
Like other debuts, the opening of the new skate facility at Clark County?EUR??,,????'?????<
That?EUR??,,????'?????<
Hollywood?EUR??,,????'?????<
His design work dates to the 1980s, when he built a half pipe in his Northern California backyard that drew visitors like Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero. He later turned pro, but also found time to apply for the landscape architecture program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
McIntyre didn?EUR??,,????'?????<
Today he smiles when he sees the number of designers who attempt the launch into the skatepark biz.
Along with McIntyre, SITE Design Group (SDG) has three other landscape architects on staff. In July, the firm acquired Hardcore Shotcrete of Phoenix, Ariz.?EUR??,,????'?????<
Previously, SDG worked with Southern California-based Spohn Ranch, Inc. on a ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Like other cities, Lathrop hoped to save money by going with the modular features, which can be arranged on an existing tennis court or other area. As in other cities, skaters were wary of the lower-price option.
There are close to 2,000 skate parks across the country, more than five times as many as in 1996, the Tony Hawk Foundation estimates. Together with inline skating, skateboarding is a $3 billion industry in annual sales. Close to 13 million skateboarders are scattered in small towns and urban areas across the country.
The park is a hit, but Goulart wishes he could have helped build something more ambitious.
A shade structure is one amenity that would be welcome, he said as 100-plus degree F. heat gripped the facility.
Back at Hollywood Park outside of Las Vegas, the design includes a total of five shade structures. Along with drinking fountains, they provide some relief on hot days. A selection of desert tree species will help more as they grow and add shade. But even then, skaters will be smart enough to stay away until sunset relieves the radiation from above.
More than two dozen lights let skaters enjoy the park until 10 p.m. That?EUR??,,????'?????<
When it comes to skateparks, success is in the details. It?EUR??,,????'?????< Most skatepark designers are consultants that work with landscape architects and park planners. That adds another layer to the process and can be cumbersome in terms of communication.
A RLA has one big advantage, Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Zach Wormhoudt said.
When towns and cities include skateparks in their park plans they turn to a handful of specialized skatepark design teams. Data below is from phone interviews and web site reports. This list is incomplete but includes most of the big skatepark design firms.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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