Paul O'Connor

Congrats to Alex on the new book. I'm excited to have a chapter in this on 'digital distance' and conspicuous digital disengagement. Check out the 50% off code too BUP02 in the post below.

Congrats. Loved being a part of this.

Leisure Studies The Leisure of Grey Spaces, Urban Play and the Chromatic Turn. Volume 44, Issue 5 of Leisure Studies

We made a special issue for @leisurestudies.bsky.social on pollution+play. The majority of papers is open-access, too ♥️

www.tandfonline.com/toc/rlst20/4...

Co-editors: @peejayohhsee.bsky.social, @indigowilling.bsky.social, @benjaminduester.bsky.social, and myself.

Thanks for all the support Leisure studies @skateorphi.bsky.social @indigowilling.bsky.social & Clifton Evers.

Most Cited Research Article 🛹

Skateboarding in the Anthropocene: Grey spaces of polluted leisure.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#Skateboarding #Leisure #GreySpaces

New Research Article 📚

The leisure of grey spaces, urban play and the chromatic turn.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#Leisure #GreySpaces #Environment

It frames and introduces the various articles from @alisonstenning.bsky.social @abikaras.bsky.social @skateorphi.bsky.social @chrisguymariano.bsky.social and many others...

The leisure of grey spaces, urban play and the chromatic turn Published in Leisure Studies (Ahead of Print, 2025)

The Editorial to our Special Issue on Grey Spaces and Chromatic Leisure for @leisurestudies.bsky.social is now published. @indigowilling.bsky.social @benjaminduester.bsky.social @sanderholsgens.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Next up in our Seminar Series on ‘Playable Cities’ at @uvahumanities.bsky.social: On April 25, @peejayohhsee.bsky.social will give a guest lecture on “Play through the Grey Prism: Addressing Chromatic Leisure in Cities“ 🛹

www.cities.humanities.uva.nl/news/asca-ci... @carobirdsall.bsky.social

Lots of really interesting looking papers coming out in the “grey spaces” special issue of @leisurestudies.bsky.social - making time post-strike to read them all.

Fantastic new paper on Roofers and the grey spaces of the capitolocene framed by the skyline of St Petersburg. Bravo!

This is just a selection of the photos I’ve taken on Tyneside. It’s clear to see the kinds of spaces they are erected in - green & grey spaces on post-war estates, spaces that afford easy doorstep playing & hanging out, in communities experiencing disinvestment with few other accessible facilities.

‘It’s a far cry from small boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts. Isn’t it?’ the changing space of informal youth football in the UK It is often remarked that all that is required for children to play football are ‘jumpers for goalposts’. Space is also required, however, and so is permission to play, and to see the game through....

3) And secondly Stephen Crossley, Gijs van Campenhout and @lbilli91.bsky.social work on informal football in the UK is a perfect fit... www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Children’s play in grey spaces: ludic geographies and the chromatic turn Children have long played in ‘grey spaces’, on doorsteps, roads, car parks, back lanes, but this ludic geography is not uncontested. Debates around the proper place for children’s outdoor play, in ...

2) I have to flag two recent excellent papers that connect to the themes of this in the UK, Firstly @alisonstenning.bsky.social work on children's play in the streets www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Yes, ball games: drive to take down signs warning against play begins in London Charity says thousands of signs on capital’s estates deter children from being active, and is covering some of them up

1) Grey Play - taking down the no ball games signs on a Lambeth Housing Estate. Good to see the urban debate on play gathering momentum... www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

I’m calling it, spring is here! @peejayohhsee.bsky.social in Rotterdam

Skateparks, pollution, and decolonisation Street skateboarding, known for its appropriation of urban architecture and space, is thought to be a decolonialising force in city streets through its manifesting of Indigenous concepts such as th...

A new article by @skateorphi.bsky.social 'Skateboarding, Pollution, Decolonisation' in Leisure Studies, another superb and novel contribution to our Special Issue on Chromatic Leisure and Grey Spaces. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Sport in Society Surfing and Skateboarding; Michael James Roberts,Kristin Lawler. Volume 28, Issue 2 of Sport in Society

New Special Issue of Sport & Society on Surf and Skate scholarship. Papers on surfing mixed in with work on skate scenes in Tijuana and Northern Ireland, a paper on skaters of colour, and our own ( @skateorphi.bsky.social @texturologies.bsky.social ) on sound. www.tandfonline.com/toc/fcss20/2...

A different gravitation: acceptance of authentic selves, becoming through doing, and support through connection within a Highland skatepark Previous research has suggested that skateparks can provide spaces which enhance social, psychological and physical wellbeing, whilst building support and a sense of community. The purpose of this ...

Another valuable research paper on the therapeutic side of skateboarding. Really please to see this in print after spending some time in Inverness and seeing some of this project unfold with Mari and Marc. @leisure-studies.bsky.social - Open Access. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

What a great idea and argument--looking forward to reading this

Children’s play in grey spaces: ludic geographies and the chromatic turn Children have long played in ‘grey spaces’, on doorsteps, roads, car parks, back lanes, but this ludic geography is not uncontested. Debates around the proper place for children’s outdoor play, in ...

Fantastic paper by @alisonstenning.bsky.social on children's play in UK streets. Progressing the discussion of chromatic leisure and advocating for play in grey spaces. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The formalisation of leisure spaces seems to come at a cost for natural spaces, grass is replaced with 'all weather pitches' and 'football cages' more related in this great paper from our special issue on leisure grey spaces tackles informal football in the UK www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

‘Dark day for parks’: Plans to build Spurs academy on London green space approved Residents had unsuccessfully challenged Enfield council in court over club’s plan to build pitches on rewilded area rich in bats and newts

Turning Green Space into Grey space. This seems like an awful idea to transform 53 hectres of park into all weather pitches. Pleased that women's football is getting support, but need it come at the cost of the little urban green space available. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The sound of skateboarding offers skaters a therapeutic way to connect with the city It is as if the skateboard is an extended sensory appendage, to feel and hear the world at large.

A short piece on our recent research paper exploring the sound of skateboarding. theconversation.com/the-sound-of...

‘It’s a far cry from small boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts. Isn’t it?’ the changing space of informal youth football in the UK It is often remarked that all that is required for children to play football are ‘jumpers for goalposts’. Space is also required, however, and so is permission to play, and to see the game through....

New OPEN ACCESS paper by Stephen Crossley, Gijs van Campenhout and me, about the past, present & future of informal youth football in the UK.

Provides a history of informal football and highlights the dangers of formalisation, containment & instrumentalisation.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The skater’s ear: a sensuous complexity of skateboarding sound The sound of skateboarding is an issue fraught in controversy: the sound is a common basis for public noise complaints as well as participant praises. We consider a possible basis for this controve...

New Publication 'The Skater's Ear' addressing the sensory world of sound for skateboarders - Open Access and free to download www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Application of Carl Jung’s Thinking to Action Sports: A Skateboarding Case Study This paper contributes to the development of psychoanalytical theory in sport philosophy. It addresses the work of Carl Jung and notes the paucity of discussion on his thinking in the realm of spor...

New publication - taking a Jungian approach to #skateboarding www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

In this year's #ASCA Cities Seminar (co-organized w/ @carobirdsall.bsky.social), we will approach the city through the lens of play with Ekim Tan, @peejayohhsee.bsky.social, Sam Hind, Christoph Borbach and Max Kanderske ✨ Open to all! www.cities.humanities.uva.nl/news/2024-20...

Conceptualising grey spaces in skateboarding: Generating theory and method for use beyond the board - Paul O’Connor, 2024 This conceptual paper elaborates on the paradigm of ‘grey spaces’ in skateboarding. It presents the fundamentals of the grey spaces concept as a bond between th...

New Publication post - Conceptualising Grey Spaces in Skateboarding: Generating Theory and Method for use Beyond the Board - in International Review of the Sociology of Sport … journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....