Introduction
The Fargo skate-park, located at Dike West on 4th St. S. in Fargo is a unique environment in the Fargo Moorhead area. Upon arriving one will find that while the skate-park is designed for to be used by patrons of all ages, it is mostly a place where teenagers come to congregate and. The park’s capacity as an unsupervised social arena allows those that seek to elude adults and/or contact with formal authority figuresthe practical means to do so. In the modern world of hovering “helicopter” parents, that such an open, and public space that is so frequently used by teenagers and young individuals exists without some form of formal supervision comes as a surprise. The first thing one notices when walking up to the entrance of the park is the large white sign posting the rules of conduct. Most are benign, such as prohibiting use of glass bottles in the park area, and requiring pet owners to leash & clean up after their pets, which are typical rules of conduct in most public places and are for the most part uninteresting- except for the inclusion of a rather unique statement printed in smaller lettering across the bottom of the board that reads “Violators are subject to arrest.” This short five-word sentence might seem innocuous enough, however, as social researchers, such language gives the indication that this is a place that was built and exists under the presumption that deviant/illegal/delinquent activity is to be expected from it’s intended patrons. The threat of outright arrest is not a common thing for one to see posted on most other city signs, especially for rules of conduct posted in a city park. This is made even more interesting when one considers for a moment that some of the posted rules aren’t even necessarily covered under any applicable statute or ordinances that would require arrest or necessitate due interest from law enforcement. A literal interpretation would mean that not cleaning up after one’s poodle, or skating after sundown might result in contact with law enforcement personnel.
Why A Skate-park?
Initially, it was our interest to investigate whether or not such stigmas associated with the act of skating are based in any real threat inherent within this specific epoch of youth subculture within Fargo. Our observations attempted to identify if those that frequent the park outwardly embody or display such identifiable characteristics to even make such a distinction. The skate-park was also interesting to us because it has the potential to offer unique opportunities to observe aspects of youth culture and patterns of social interaction specific to the skate-park atmosphere where participants and patrons actively watch, learn, and mimic each other building upon interactions that form collective identity from which emerges a sense of group solidarity and community. The skate-park is a purposeful place for specific activity that can be observed and easily studied. There is no limitation or hindrance on accessibility, which makes this an ideal setting for unobstrusive observations.
Research Objectives
Our research object was to employ an emic approach and unobtrusive observations to describe the interactions, activities, and behaviors of individuals observed at the Fargo Dike West Skate-Park.
Methodology
Our methods involvedunobtrusive observations by four group members that were recorded at various times and vantages over the course of a 5 day period starting September 25th, 2009. Approaches that were used attempted to triangulate data using both qualitative descriptions of behavior and interactions with observable demographic and physical characteristics that were compared and contrasted in an attempt to define discernable groups within the park and their subsequent group behaviors. We then attempted to tie our observations to existing theory. Another way we improved the validity of our study is the fact that one of the members of our research group has the distinction of being an insider within the F/M skating subculture, and his status allows us to assume insider/outsider researcher roles. Observer triangulation was also utilized, taking advantage of multiple vantages each day of observation in order to develop a sound base of observational and descriptive data from which one might draw substantiated conclusions.
Ethics
We chose not to include specific descriptive data of motor vehicles so as to protect the identities of those we observed from possible consequences of our published observations. Moreover, we made sure to stay clear of any interactions with the studied population in order to maintain proper unobtrusive research role.
Setting/Environment
The Fargo skate-park, located at Dike West on the east side of 4th St. S. in Fargo is in the downtown area and is bordered on the north by two basketball courts, to the east by an earthen dike, and to the south by Prairie-St.John’s Psychiatric Hospital. The skate-park’s physical layout is unique because it’s design centers around the facilitation of various forms of skateboarding, inline skating, or “freestyle” bicycle moto-cross or “BMX” riding which focuses on combining acrobatics maneuvers, or “tricks” that are done using the various concrete structures found within the park. Spectatorship is also reflected in the parks design with the inclusion of a set of bleachers that could accommodate about 40 people on the north side under a roof connected to the small building near the northwest entrance to the park.
The Entrance
The designated skating area of the skate-park extends off to the south and east of the entrance, and the dike for which the park is named rises up on the east end and stretches along the Red River to the north and south. The North-West corner houses a few stair-sets, and extending along the east and south edges are a number of boxes, each with their particular variances and difficulties. From there an incline leads down into the bowl where there is a table-top box in the center.
North Flats
The north east corner is a mostly flat section with a couple of short boxes used mostly for “flat land” tricks, or tricks requiring no incline or vertical ramp to complete, which can include a variety of “kick-flips”, “ollies”, and “grinds”.
Pool Section
South of the flats and east of the center table top is the “pool” area, consisting of a raised spine section in between two cement structures modeled after the shape of an empty swimming pool, a commonly used skating area made popular by early pioneers of the sport. This area is used mostly by more advanced skaters because it takes a good amount of practice to be able to gain and keep the momentum and balance required to get past the lip and achieve adequate “hang-time” (time spent in mid-air) to pull off a trick, as well as transition from the air back on to the inclined surface.
The Spine
The spine section is used to gain momentum and practice “lip” tricks, or tricks that use the edge of the vertical surface to balance and attempt variations of grabs and other tricks. The spine can be used by less advanced skaters to gain a better understanding of what the pool will feel like because it is essentially a toned down version that one can practice riding down without having to come up the other end right away.
South Flats
Around the south side of the bowl a variety of boxes designed for skateboarders and bikers alike are included. They are various lengths and heights for skaters of every skill level. There are also a couple of table-top boxes placed around the south-west perimeter that are mostly used by the bikers at the park.
Rails & Grinds
There are a few grind rails and waxed edges in the park as well that facilitate tricks involving jumping and sliding down or across a section that usually consists of a rounded pipe or a polished or waxed 90 degree concrete surface using a part of the board, bike or skate that doesn’t have wheels, and then “landing” the trick back on the wheels and continuing motion. A number of such “grind-able” rails and surfaces are found in front of the bleachers.
The Look
While actual layout of the park has a specific purpose in mind, it might be inferred that there is also a purpose to be found in the relatively pristine nature of the park facilities. What we noticed was the fundamental lack of one major characteristic of community skate-parks in larger cities, which was the presence of aerosol art or other forms of artistic/symbolic decorations that most authorities would designate as “graffiti” or “tagging” that in other parks are indelible features of the visual landscape and typically cover the majority of the paintable surfaces in such parks. We did see a few areas that looked like they had been covered by the drab concrete gray paint that most municipalities use to cover any undesired emergent artistic contributions made to structures or surfaces within the city. This is possible evidence that the municipality of Fargo, North Dakota has read something on Kelling & Cole’s (1996) broken windows theory on crime deterrence, that basically asserts that to successfully prevent minor crimes such as vandalism by removing/covering it as soon as possible, and effectively “fixing” the problem before it gets any worse. So the lack of lasting visible graffiti in the park is likely due to the efforts of municipal authorities to suppress such activities through actively reacting to it’s presence within the community.
The Rules
-Park closes at dark
-Glass bottles are prohibited
-No littering/dumping
-No alcoholic beverages allowed in park
-No vehicles allowed off designated roads
-Pets must be on leash
-Owners must clean up after their pets
-No overnight parking
Violators are subject to arrest
Observations
“Skating” as it is understood within the park is a specified activity that appeals to a crowd that was mostly male and between 12 and 18 years of age, and predominantly Caucasian with few exceptions. While the focus of the park is to facilitate skating and freestyle BMX, such activities have the capacity to attract a certain amount of spectator attention from peers of the same age group of which females are more represented. Those that were mostly spectators and didn’t have a skateboard or a bike as well as those that tended to stay within the park’s parking-lot on the northwest endwere what we designated as the “parking-lot” crowd, and those that are within the park with the apparent intentions to skate as the “skate-park” crowd, which are divided into sub-sects among the “skaters”, the “non-skating skaters” and the “bikers”.
The Feel on Slow Days
The “feel” of the skate-park is subject to change depending on how busy it is at the given time. On a slow day the first thing that one notices about the skate-park crowd is that they help each other out when they are having trouble with a certain section, or a certain trick, and by engaging in such activity they help each other learn new tricks and develop patterns of interaction that give the park a sense of community and it’s members a source of mutual social and practical support. A good example of this was when two males, approximately 14-15 years of age, arrived on a pair of custom bicycles, one a three-tall bike (a bike that is essentially three bike frames on top of each other) and the other a “chopped” low-rider bike meaning the front forks were stretched way out and the handlebars were stretched upward, giving the rider an appearance of riding lower on the frame than other traditional bicycles. These two meshed perfectly with the atmosphere of the park on a slow day as they responded to the curiosity expressed by the 4 skaters already in the park by showing them how to ride their custom machines. One gave the youngest pointers on how to stay stable on the chopper, while his friend showed the others how to mount the tall bike, the oldest skater appeared to learn the quickest and succeeded within his first few attempts; then only after a short time riding he felt comfortable enough to roll down the incline and into the bowl. Between them, the skaters took several attempts to mount the seat in which the bike fell over before they were able to successfully scale the bike and climb into the seat. This observed interaction says something about the attitude of the kids on the custom cycles, and the says something in general about the comfort level that is felt within the park. This is also a good example of the camaraderie that we observed when one considers the degree of trust that they are able to extend to their peers to the extent that they don’t seem to worry about whether or not their bikes will be returned to them. In this instance, it appeared that these young people considered the skate-park to be a safe environment- even though there is typically no formal authority there to ensure it. The informal adherence to commonly held norms is a feature that is found among all subcultures and is evidence of the solidarity that is perceived among individuals and interactions that were observable within the various groups found to exist in and around the skate-park. It is an environment in which youth may seek, find, and interact with others that they identify with and whom they feel are more are likely to accept them. In this way that the skate park encourages and provides a sense of community among youth that are found there.
The Feel on Busy Days
The Friday afternoon we spent at the skate-park saw it at it’s most populated during the few days that we made observations. Upon arriving, we found a large number of individuals at the park, on the bleachers, and in the parking lot; we counted approximately thirty to forty individuals. Their ages ranged seven to twenty years old. A mix of races and ethnicities were present, however, the most common was white.
The “feel” of the busy day was unique in that there was visibly observable clique segregation. Because there were so many people gathered in different areas of the park we were able to visibly differentiate the crowds from each other, especially those skateboarding and those riding BMX bikes. A relatively large group (8-9) sat on the Northeast corner where they watched and mimicked each other’s “flat tricks”. All of them were males, ages spanned from approximately 7 to about 20 yrs. of age and their close proximity to each other signaled a sense of familiarity and kinship. Those sitting and observing talked with each other and made references to whomever was doing a trick at the time, and were often observed making comments/criticisms of their form and style.
A small group of BMX bikers were not as active as the skaters, and were often observed sitting on their bikes, simply watching and talking with each other rather than performing tricks. Eventually a pattern did emerge with the BMX bikers. We observed that they would talk for a particular length of time, then one would bike down into the pool, loop around, and then rejoin his friends, then at other points the others would do the same. It was unclear whether this pattern was formally or informally acknowledged, however, due to our position we were unable to listen to their conversations.
Among all the crowds, there was a small group of pre-teen boys, approximately age 12 who were on skateboards. They had no set location and skated across the entire park. They wore skinny jeans, one of them wearing a beanie with a stripped, long-sleeve shirt, the other two in t-shirts. What was most intriguing was that one of them had a video camera and followed the other two, recording them. After performing a trick, one would hand off the camera to another and be filmed. This went on for some time until they stood around, talked for a length of time, and eventually left the park on their boards.
Lastly, we observed the number of individuals with no apparent affiliation to other individuals. We counted three of them. They did not have a designated place in the park, but rather, they were concentrated on skating. One of them was male, white, in his twenties with a beard, cargo shorts and a black t-shirt. We have no estimate of how long he left about ten minutes after our arrival. Another individual who was male, in his late teens sported a shaved head, multiple facial & body piercings, black pants and a white t-shirt. The third individual had longer hair, a beanie, an orange t-shirt and baggy cargo pants. All of these individuals did not belong to any crowd, did not talk with anyone, and left alone.
Overall, on a busy day, a wide variety of people populated the park. Some come in groups, others arrive alone. There is definite visibility of segregation and different purposes of being at the skate-park. What may look like chaos can be deconstructed into categorized groups and individuals who all share the same space for different reasons.