The New york graffiti war (wtf?)

"...as the works of popular public artists rise in value, so do the neighbourhoods around them. The work of popular street artists, inadvertently or not, spurs processes of gentrification and urban renewal. In New York, the majority of chosen works have been in the Lower East Side, a neighbourhood akin to Montreal?s Plateau, where trendy bars, vintage clothing shops, and small boutiques reign. The street art is used as a selling point, helping to reconstruct the image of the neighbourhood into one of bohemian charm, art, and culture."

Who would have thought that people would drop the broken windows litany and start kvetching that unauthorized painting causes property values to rise? Or maybe it's only stickers and stencils that are good? So ... a balance of graffiti with the street art would maintain equilibrium? I'm having trouble following the logic, if any. Except, of course, someone with little going for them but no-style splashing and a manifesto has somehow gotten fame (again). Now that I do get.

It makes you wonder, though, whether graffiti and property value are actually related at all.

If so, I guess the vigilante has the situation well in hand. Buy the local art and your neighborhood value goes up. Destroy the local art and your neighborhood remains ugly but cheap for the art-destroyers.

Maybe we should just aim for one nice, even coating of outdoor art in all our neighborhoods and stop this game now.