Fred Preston
The Polyskooter(s): Exploring forms of street-travel
A story of stories, exploring embodied kinship in streets & urban roads
Urban roads and streets are political places where tensions frequently bubble over between conflicting perceptions of social order and vehicular hierarchy, where everyone generally thinks they are ‘right’ despite grey areas, unwritten rules and ambiguities.
But what are the untold stories of non-dominant street travellers? Where do embodied, accessible and socially playful forms of physical expression fit into the future of urban design or public policy? And can such experiences uncover key insights that can support meaningful changes to discourse around urban transport?
This short film documents dialogue and stories from roller-skaters, skateboarders, scooterers, cyclists and motorists in Brighton and Greater London. From the person who once roller-skated from London to Brighton in 5 hours to win a bet with friends, to another who picks a ‘cycling buddy’ to keep pace with; the data around solidarity, play and reciprocal care is rich, complex, and revealing.
The stories (ethnography) coalesce with an Action Research journey that introduces a tandem scooter: “The Polyskooter”. The film culminates as the narrator takes to the street with some of the co-creators and interviewees, to test it out.
