Chapter 4: Design

2. Visibility And Sociability
It’s tempting to rely upon social stigmas and stereotypes when considering why skateparks need to be visible. While it may be true that any facility that intends to attract teenagers should be visible, it’s not so those teenagers can’t get away with bad behavior. Instead, skateparks must be visible because skateboarders are our youth. They should be treated with the same pride and respect that we, as a society, offer our Little League stars and basketball champs. While there are bad kids who skate, there are many more great kids who ride skateboards. Placing a skatepark where the community can see it essentially says that the skatepark and its users are important to the community.

The skatepark should be located in a
place that invites non-skaters to come
and enjoy the action.

Visibility also helps area visitors to understand the activity. A non-skating visitor probably does not want to round a corner and suddenly be confronted with a skatepark any more than a skateboarder wants to round a corner and encounter someone walking a big dog on a long leash. Visibility helps all of the visitors read the environment and increase their comfort.

The social qualities of a prospective site can be measured by the number of different kinds of uses the site currently supports, the presence of elderly people or young children, and healthy evening activity.