SOA Paris' team was invited to participate to the Skate Urbanism festival organized in September 2024 by Leo Valls in Bordeaux: Connect Festival. This invitation was the occasion for us to meet more creative & talented people.
At the crossroads of skateboarding & urban planning, Lena Germanese is making her mark. Blending her passion for skating with her professional expertise, she wants to transform how we view & use public spaces.
Léna passed by the Lille (France) bowl every day during her urban planning studies. At 24, she decided to give skateboarding a try, & it instantly clicked. Her background in urban planning, supported by degrees in landscape development, geography & public space planning were quickly bound to skateboarding.
Her project "Boardelaise" was her very first urban skate project. She designed a skate obstacle that was built through a 100% female participatory workshop to highlight women's technical, athletic & intellectual talents.
She explains that for this project, she organized several FLINTA sessions to make sure everyone knew the module was an open, accessible space & to encourage them to take ownership, to feel confident using it on their own.
The module, accessible to all skill levels, was placed in a public space & remained there for two months, until it was eventually worn out from skating.
Lena, skate city planner
Lena @skate_cityplanner ; credits: Jessy N. Marine
SOA Paris is an official French nonprofit organization created in Paris, currently based in Bordeaux
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