Dr. Veith Kilberth ^*

• University of Flensburg, Flensburg, Germany

The article examines spaces for skateboarding, beginning with the significant rise of street skateboarding in the early 1990s and the resulting spatial conflicts in urban environments. It questions the often one-dimensional approach of city governments in confining skateboarding to segregated skateparks and introduces alternative skateboarding spaces characterized by more integrative and inclusive qualities. These new approaches are analysed through the intersection of two seemingly divergent developments: a more established skateboarding community, increasingly willing to collaborate with municipal authorities, and the urban sociological concept of the creative city phenomenon. By examining the convergence of these trends, the paper highlights potential opportunities and the conditions necessary for implementing innovative spatial concepts in urban contexts. In a subsequent step, the study defines these new spatial types and explores selected models of good practice. Based on a framework ranging from exclusion to inclusion, a concept is developed that spans constructed skateparks, self-built DIY projects, shared spots, and legitimized street spots. This comprehensive positioning model aims to broaden the spectrum of options, offering both opportunities and challenges to support citizen initiatives and enable municipalities to make informed decisions regarding appropriate skateboarding spaces in their cities.