Near as I can tell this is a new model for DIY skateparks, or for that matter, skateparks in general. Court 2.0 is a project to replace the DIY spot known as “Courts,” located on the Portland State University campus. Originally the site of derelict tennis courts, it became a permission spot for what was supposed to be a 1 year trial period. Basically, a sanctioned spot to build or bring your own obstacles. That spot was always going to be temporary, and PSU is going to begin construction of an art building on that site. In a lesson learned at Burnside, key to a DIY spot is being a good neighbor. Organizers have managed to secure a 300k grant to develop a new spot nearby, again with the blessing of PSU. This new spot will add a few amenities missing from the old spot, notably a set of skate able ledges somewhat disguised as seating. It’s important to note these obstacles are not concrete, and are therefore reconfigurable, but not in the model of the institutional modular skateparks. This is truly community driven.

You’re looking at a set of covers for curbs, ledges and parking blocks that are made out of 16 Gauge USA cold-rolled galvanized and powder coated steel. The idea from Curb Cover is to make unskateable elements skateable. Sure, you could, you know, just find a different curb to skate, but what if you don’t want to? If you’re worried about these things sliding out from under you, they have padding underneath that has been proven to work with ample video evidence. The most interesting product here is the parking block cover. It’s actually sturdy enough to skate without placing over a parking block, and can be used as a mold to pour your own parking blocks. The ledge covers offer a lot of functionality too, you can cover bricks or even skate stoppers. That’s actually genius. If you cover a ledge, the entire ant-skate argument of property damage is null and void.

Are dead malls the equivalent of foreclosed homes with pools for street skaters? Is this spot a bust? The DMV is the only thing you can access, and it’s usually got a huge line. The employees inside are so busy they’d likely be oblivious. Is there a hoard of zombies trapped behind that plywood wall?

These big, beefy parking blocks are located about a 100 miles east of San Diego, near the Republic of Slowjamistan. The pictures don’t show how big they are. I didn’t have a ruler with me but I estimate they are a good 10″ tall. The sole paved spot outside of restrooms in Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area.

I was in Atlanta for about 30 hours to watch the MLS Cup. The Timbers lost, which was a bummer. My experience was essentially Airport to Marta to Hotel to Stadium to AirbnB to Airport. I didn’t get to see a lot, but I did catch some nice looking, but mostly wet terrain.

As part of Miami Arts Week, Mana Common has sponsored Infinity Plaza, which is a skateable art installation by Andrew Schoultz. It’s a permanent installation, although some of it appears to be made out of wood, so we all know how long that’s going to last. It opened on December 1st, so if you are in the Miami neighborhood (Mana Wynwood Convention Center 2217 NW 5th Avenue) you can check it out. If not, check out some pictures of the installation after the jump. The wall that looks like the tank has blasted hole through it has an interesting quality. It almost looks photoshopped in most of the pictures, but the detail view reveals it’s just a trick of the eye cause by high contrast decoration.

Bridge launch ramp and/or bank in Chicago. Watch out for those bolts. Someone point me to a skate photo of a spot like this.

This traffic stopping barrier in an alley in downtown Chicago can be raised and lowered. When raised, it’s almost got more of a wall jam or pole jam angle than than a launch ramp. Still, it’s got potential. It would be funny if they had to put skate stoppers on a car stopper.

Here’s an excellent time capsule of skateboard harassment from a local Springfield Illinois news channel concerning a proposed ban on skateboarding downtown. Local business and civic leaders speak out against “skateboard terrorists” in advance of the ban, which ultimately passed. The video was digitized from a decrepit old VHS tape, so there are tracking issues and the sound doesn’t always sync right, but it’s still a good watch. One of the skateboarders makes a reasonable request for a public skatepark to serve the needs of the population, and they did get one after only 25 years. – Thanks to Nick Rudd for the tip.

House of Neil spotted this not-made-for-skate terrain outside Macy’s in Schaumburg. Looks… like so much fun, and not even marked yet. Let the countdown to skatestoppers begin.