Abstract
So-called ‘DIY-Skateparks’ are most commonly constructed on public property or dilapidated private property. DIY skateparks nearly always involve large amounts of uncompensated labor and materials and often result in improvements in the immediate socio-economic landscape (Glenney, 2025; Pietiäinen, 2025; Yates, 2022). As such, these parks represent an appropriate case study of property law and the public interest. This essay reviews the central issues in legal theory and juxtaposes them with a fictional story of several young skateboarders attempting to construct a DIY park on dilapidated private property. Together, they illustrate ways that DIY skateparks may exist within grey areas of the law. With this work, I am attempting to educate (and entertain) readers about how they might use the law to their advantage.