Negotiated consent or zero tolerance? Responding to graffiti and street art in Melbourne

Abstract

This paper critically considers the recent history of graffiti regulation in one municipality. It draws upon my experience of being appointed to develop a Draft Strategy on Graffiti for the City of Melbourne in 2004. My appointment was based upon the several years I had spent as a criminologist and socio-legal researcher, engaging with the communities of graffiti writers and street artists in Melbourne and internationally. The aim was to develop a Strategy that would take a more progressive approach to graffiti and street art management, and the proposed policy focused upon notions of 'negotiated consent' to the presence of graffiti or street art and 'zones of tolerance' with varying degrees..