Oakland Anti-Graffiti Ordinance Archives - Community Rejuvenation Project

The Abatement Mural Mystery

March 29, 2017

Graffiti is a polarizing word. Rampant tagging in urban areas contributes to blight, which according to law enforcement experts, decreases property values, and invites further vandalism and illegal dumping. These urban hieroglyphs are frequently a hot-button issue for both the media and elected officials; their sensationalistic rhetoric has turned the abatement industry into a $20 billion behemoth. For that reason, many practitioners of the form prefer the term “aerosol artist” – noting that the punitive measures often prescribed tend to…

Oakland Tribune Reports: City Council Has Only Spent a Fraction of Abatement Mural Allotment

April 30, 2015

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CRP Blog & Updates, Op-Eds, Press Clippings, Public Art Policy

As CRP previously reported , Councilmember Desley Brooks (D6) is on record as telling KPFA’s Davey D, “Neighborhoods in West Oakland and East Oakland need to have public art.” Yet in an Oakland Tribune article published on Sunday, April 26, it was revealed that Brooks and her fellow Councilmembers have dragged their feet in allocating funds set aside in 2013 for abatement murals. As reporter Mike Blasky noted, “Of the $400,000 the council approved, only $14,100 has been formally allocated,…

The Case for Public Murals as an Alternative to an Ineffective Abatement Model

October 31, 2013

crproject

CRP Blog & Updates

In a recent Oakland Tribune article —provocatively titled “Extortion or Art”– reporter Matthew Artz put forth that “the city is enjoying a golden age of murals and street art. But it also is grappling with a graffiti epidemic like none it has ever seen.” Artz documented some of the failures of the Oakland City Council’s recently adopted anti-graffiti ordinance, noting that no fines have been levied against illegal vandals to date, while property owners in tagging hotspots in West and…

It’s Time to Rethink Graffiti Abatement Strategies

February 5, 2013

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CRP Blog & Updates, Op-Eds

The answer to the graffiti problem isn’t throwing money down the abatement black hole or instituting stricter zero-tolerance policies. Any viable solution must revolve around the creation of sound, forward-thinking policy which avoids knee-jerk reactionism and repeating mistakes which have been made in the past. San Jose’s example shows that permanent reductions in graffiti vandalism through zero tolerance measures aren’t sustainable, and that with current abatement strategies, sometimes you get less than you pay for.