Turf Dancing has been around for years, but recently there seems to be a newfound interest in the urban art form.

What can a group of youth, government agencies, nonprofits and contractors accomplish with the right mix of power saws, hammers, pick axes and work gloves?

They can bring together a community and prepare a new generation of green urban architects.

To really understand the Scraper Bike movement, one must experience it in its element: the turfs of East Oakland.  “The Deep East,” as it’s known, is a seemingly endless stretch of inner city, which begins at the east end of Lake Merritt and continues all the way to San Leandro. Like the rest of Oakland, its population is diverse, yet there are more African Americans and Latinos than in other parts of the town.

It’s not uncommon to see graffiti ominously announcing “BB 187” on a wall over a crossed-out Border Brothers tag on a wall. Churches are as numerous as liquor stores. There are plenty of well-maintained single-family homes, along with not so-well-maintained housing projects and apartment complexes. Car culture is big; since homes are generally modest, a clean ride is a source of pride – 22” rims, and sometimes larger, are a status symbol. And shiny Japanese sports cars, big-body American muscle cars abound, as do vans, SUV’s and pick-up trucks.

Residents of the Oakland flats - predominantly low-income African Americans and Latinos - can expect to die from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke, on average, more than a decade before residents living in the Oakland hills.