New approaches to combating illegal graffiti
Enormous amounts of money are spent on attacking graffiti vandalism. However, more effective approaches are called for in order to fight illegal graffiti, including community resources to help understand vandalism problems. An EU-funded project, GRAFFOLUTION (Awareness and prevention solutions against graffiti vandalism in public areas and transport), sought to decrease graffiti vandalism in public areas and transportation networks. The aim was to provide information on smart awareness and available prevention solutions for all affected groups. These include those who manage graffiti and those who use street art as part of urban regeneration. A qualitative study was conducted in four partner countries (Germany, Spain, Austria and the United Kingdom). This was followed by surveys that addressed all European Member States in order to broaden the scope, gather additional insights and validate the findings compiled. In-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders from six fields: police and law enforcement, social and cultural projects, enterprises, transport organisations, graffiti writers and public administrations/authorities. The major findings of the research from the four countries included regional, legal, ethical and privacy aspects as well as graffiti vandalism monitoring, reporting and management tools. GRAFFOLUTION conducted research on graffiti vandalism in public areas and transport, and identified relevant stakeholders, roles and processes. It analysed initiatives, measures, technical methods and best practices in response to graffiti vandalism in Europe, and surveyed the requirements of all affected stakeholders. Concepts and solutions were developed to combat illegal graffiti, and a web-based awareness and prevention framework was designed. Furthermore, it offered an Open Information Hub for social media technologies in a bid to increase awareness through the presentation of information and images. Results were disseminated via the project website, GRAFFOLUTION platform, newsletters and factsheets, social networks, blogs, scientific publications, conferences and workshops. The information is proving useful for policymakers, transport operators and the general public.
Keywords
Illegal graffiti, graffiti vandalism, GRAFFOLUTION, public areas, transport