Snowboarding: Fitting Use or Urban Abuse?
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Abstract
Central Hillside Park in Duluth, Minnesota is an often desolate park in the heart of downtown. My design seeks to create a new type of project, an urban snowpark in which every part of the urban block can be ridden compared to a space with temporary features. This design will translate into opportunities for skateboarders in the summer, as well as provide opportunities for other sports and activities. Creating a multifunctional area that is safe to progressively learn new tricks can energize a space year round with not only snowboarding and skateboarding, but more traditional sports and activities as well. Designing with features that are most fun to ride, materials that can withstand heavy use, and arranging them in a safe, fun way can progress the sport while protecting the users as best as possible. A park that gives riders the opportunity to ride every aspect of an urban environment, legally, can change people’s negative perceptions of non-traditional sports. In doing so, this design will be the first park that looks like any other urban city block, but any feature can be ridden, like a skatepark.