It wasn't long ago that skateboarders were the ire of cranky neighbors, security guards, city officials and much of the public as being the cause of damage to public (and sometimes private) places. But that perception of skateboarders is starting to change within our society as a whole.
The New York Times dove into the subject in a major feature over the weekend entitled "Skateboarders Won."
In the feature, reporter Jeff Ihaza makes the argument that skateboarding can be found just about everywhere these days: in the streets, on fashion runways, all over Instagram and soon to be in the Olympics.
"Skateboarding is no longer something people fear. The skate punk of the late 1980s is now a suburban dad. Across runways, and in music videos and film, subtle influences of skate culture are noticeable. Everyone wears Vans sneakers," says Ihaza.
Skate parks are now a widely-accepted project for city's to build multiple of. The article references a handful of new projects just built in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle and other cities around the world that add up to the estimated 3,500 skate parks worldwide.
While that is quite a large number, many skaters and advocates for skateboarding admit that even that number falls short of providing a proper supply for the demand. You can read the full article here on the
New York Times website.