Yesporciento is an architecture and research studio founded by Sebastián Castro, architect and skateboarder. From Chile, his interests lie around strategies to maximise and strengthen the public and collective space through the Skateboarding phenomenon. Next, Castro presents his most recent analysis focused on observing, registering and presenting some cultural manifestations related to the recovery and occupancy of disused urban spaces, defining three case studies within the urban area of Santiago.
Text courtesy of the author. The skateboarder observes and perceives the city, its spaces and components in a completely different way to that of a common pedestrian. This is based on the discovery of different values and meanings immersed in them, whom through technique and body movement, transform surfaces into fields of action and sport. This creative ability to resignify the city gives it a totally new dimension, where the skateboarder considers buildings, environments and their waste as facilitators of social, cultural and sports autonomy. Consequently, the creation of DIY (Do It Yourself) spaces used by skateboarders, promote new ways of occupying disused urban spaces that are directly related to the constant processes of transformation, expansion, reinvention and development of the city.
The organisation of the community and the self-management of local and external stakeholders have led to the recovery and occupation of these disused spaces through clean-up days, raffles for the financing and construction of spots, donations, and an important sense of belonging, creating vibrant communities that transform the residual spaces of the city in safe places with added value, where sports, social, artistic and cultural expressions are the protagonist.
