Skateboarding as a tool for reading the city

Abstract

Modern urban youth sports cultures are notable for their diverse and complex nature. The question arises as to what analytical approach should be used to study their multifaceted character. Using the St Petersburg skateboard scene as an example, the article shows the advantages in applying the concept of the postsport cultures to understand how the common functions of urban infrastructure are redefined, what trends exist on the scene, how they shape the meanings attributed to them by the scene participants, and how those signs are read. The study also employs the solidarity approach to describe the interactions between the scene participants through the ideas and ideological controversies shared by them. The focus of the paper is how to apply solidarity approach to study the nature of urban postsport cultures based on St Petersburg skateboard scene case study. Given the lack of Russian publications on the topic, the study is also aimed at inscribing the Russian skateboarding experience into the Western academic context.