by Grace Chinowsky
(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
The City of Seattle’s stance on graffiti remains as staunchly “anti” as ever, with Mayor Bruce Harrell doubling down on his graffiti abatement efforts, but the legal and social outlook on street art in the city has evolved significantly.
The City is currently awaiting the results of their appeal against a federal court’s injunction of an ordinance banning graffiti — effectively legalizing it until a judge makes a ruling — and one of the city’s most high-profile taggers is now out on bail after being arrested for the second time last month. Meanwhile, the City is partnering with a local nonprofit that connects people in need of employment with work cleaning up graffiti, reaching businesses in the Chinatown-International District (CID) hit hard by graffiti writers.
But is graffiti the big problem our mayor has made it out to be?
Continue reading What’s Going On With Graffiti in Seattle?