For a “traceur” (Parkour practitioner), there are no obstacles. Rolling, running, dipping, jumping, vaulting, whatever it takes, a traceur will have his way. Parkour is a non competitive sport or rather an efficient way of tackling your way across physical obstacles while in running motion. It was developed by David Belle in France. To promote this uninhibited, Parkour spirit comes an app designed to find out places to perform stunts and tricks and bring together enthusiasts. The developers call it “Run the City.”
Run the City is a parkour-centric app which allows uploading of photos and videos at each location which become open to rating and comments. QR code stickers enable recognition of spots for stunts and tricks. These stickers are those box shaped bar codes you see protruding almost from the package of anything you get from a convenience store. These stickers are downloadable and printable. To see the tricks connected to a spot, one may scan a sticker meant for that spot. Now you can take it upon yourself to outshine or match that trick and upload the results thereby boosting your rating. Indeed a competitive element is involved but the main aim behind the app is to share knowledge regarding routes and spots. Eventually users can link several spots in order to create a stretch for a full-fledged run.
This application is beneficial for people who move from place to place doing parkour or for enthusiasts of the sport in general. Live feeds will also be a feature of the app enabling people to know there and then if someone has discovered a new spot, uploaded a new trick or outperformed a previous one. The brains behind the smart app are of Max Little & Owen Dye who are responsible for the concept and design. Now go discover your parkour community.