Sustainable Graffiti Management Solutions for Public Areas

Abstract

Towards advancing sustainable graffiti management solutions for public areas, this article investigates the efficacy and socio- ecological effects of a range of contemporary graffiti management tactics. In addition to finding that reactive management tactics (e.g. painting over graffiti, chemical-based graffiti removal, and anti-graffiti coatings) are largely ineffective at deterring graffiti vandalism in public areas, it is shown that reactive management efforts also entail both short- and long-term environmental risks. Moreover, a comparison of reactive and proactive management tactics (e.g. landscaping techniques, green walls, community murals, legal graffiti spaces, and public art workshops) indicates that the cumulative environmental effects of reactive tactics are significantly more detrimental to human health and local ecosystems. Accordingly, it is recommended that local authorities focus on proactive graffiti management tactics for public areas. Finally, several best practice case studies of sustainable graffiti management are highlighted.