The Cost of Graffiti
The cost of graffiti is more than most could imagine. Did you know that the US spends between 13-15 billion a year on graffiti removal (see more)? This was prior to Covid. Since then, the numbers have increased substantially.
Surprisingly, many people feel that graffiti is relatively harmless and mild irritant in society. In fact, some people believe that graffiti is good thing. A right of expression and a positive element of society. Undoubtedly, these people have never got up in the morning to find their garage door, storefront, car, or fence covered in scribbled spray paint, still dripping from the night before.
Certainly, anyone who has experienced graffiti on their property will attest to the frustration this causes in having to now figure out what to do. Who to call? Should it be reported to police? How to get it removed? Will it be expensive to remove? How long will it take? Will it come back? Was I targeted? Am I in danger? Is this community safe? Why did it happen? Surely there are lot of questions, and concerns. Especially, lots of cost.
In most cases, it the financial cost of graffiti that is most recognized. However, the social impact as well as the impact to those youth in the graffiti subculture is just as concerning.
The Impact of Graffiti
Financial Cost of Graffiti
The cost in removing graffiti can range from a few dollars to a few thousands of dollars. Whereas, the removal of a small tag, the cost does not seem to be much, but cumatively it is huge. Taking into consideration that an active graffiti vandal with a marker pen will tag 20-50 times a day this starts to add up. Considering that there could be over 50 graffiti vandals active in any city at any given time, the numbers really start to add up.
Although graffiti is not often considered a major municipal expense is common for many cities throughout the world to surpass $1m in graffiti removal annually. Additionally, this does not account for graffiti unreported or on private property. This is typically tax payer money. Reportedly, the United States spends between $13-15 billion each year on graffiti removal. Yes billion. This is money that could go into social programs, education programs, healthcare, research, job creation, supporting small business, etc. Yes, it adds up and yes it matters.
This is looking at graffiti through and economic lens. What about from the perspective of social well-being?
Social Cost of Graffiti
Research has proven that with visual elements like graffiti in neighbourhoods there is a significant detrimental social fallout.
The presence of graffiti invites more graffiti, vandalism and street level crime. This is well known and undisputed by most academic sources. Importantly , the presence of graffiti causes an erosion in the social health of the community with subconscious feelings of insecurity by community members. With the presence of graffiti, perceptions of crime and danger manifest. These preceptions translate into feelings of fear, distrust, isolation. The exact opposite of what strong communities aspire towards. (See More)
Left unaddressed, graffiti will have a long and lasting impact on community and the people that live within. In particular, people become reclusive, avoiding community engagement, interacting and postitive activity. Gravitating to safer environments, positive long term members of the community move to other neighbourhoods while a more transient population occupy. In turn, as the social demographic changes with the influx of people lacking interest in the well-being of the community. Businesses close, property values drop, and social opportunities diminish. This is only a brief synopsis with much more detail on the erosion of social capital available.
The Cost to Youth
Contrary to the popular belief of some, graffiti is not a benign activity of bored youth. Graffiti is not a venue for artistically inclined youth (See Art or Vandalism). Especially, graffiti is not a safe or harmless activity.
In reality, graffiti is a harmful and dangerous practice that impacts many youth in a variety of ways.
Undeniably, graffiti is dangerous. Graffiti vandals are continually competing for space and attention leading them to taking great risks to have their tags seen. As a rule, he nature of graffiti is based on reputation. The more dangerous locations to paint, the higher the risk, the greater boost to the reputation. Subsequently, graffiti writers regularly fall from buildings, get hit by cars and trains, get electrocuted in rail yards and are injured by the violence of other graffiti writers.
Along with the dangers in creating graffiti, the lifestyle of someone in the graffiti community is highly antisocial and highly destructive. Overwhelmingly, the relationship between graffiti tagging and substance abuse is prevalent as well as dangerous. Commonly, members in the graffiti subculture become involved in moderate to heavy substance abuse as well as other criminal activity.
By most counts, as graffiti vandals transition from youth into adulthood, graffiti becomes more and more compulsive that many writers profess that it has become an addiction almost impossible to quit.
Unfortunately, the graffiti lifestyle, the social culture associated with it and the high risk behavior takes it’s toll on many young graffiti writers. In truth, very few youth who are fully active in the world of graffiti leave that lifestyle without major physical, social or psychological injury and trauma.