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- Title
Write in Duggan for Mayor, but not on City Walls: Revanchist Responses to Graffiti in Detroit.
- Authors
Walters, Kirsten
- Abstract
What similarities do zero-tolerance graffiti management policies share with aestheticization efforts that co-opt graffiti artists into creating sanctioned murals? Existing literature views the former category of policies as revanchist, aiming to retake the city from those considered to be undesirable. In contrast, it regards the latter category as policies that catalyze gentrification through placemarketing. I posit that in cities with high degrees of fear about crime and the safety of investments, the goals of these policies can overlap. Specifically, using the case study of Detroit, I hypothesize that while these policies erase graffiti in different manners, they share the same aim: retaking Detroit from "undesirable elements" to attract middle-class residents and encourage urban revitalization. To support my hypothesis, I conduct a case study of Detroit's graffiti management policies under Mayor Mike Duggan. I find that government officials and local newspapers frame zero-tolerance policies and beautification efforts in the same way. Specifically, they use these policies to reassure potential investors and middle-class residents that Detroit is safe.
- Subjects
STREET art; GENTRIFICATION; PLACE marketing; CULTURAL maintenance; GOVERNMENT policy
- Publication
Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research (MJUR), 2019, Issue 10, p148
- ISSN
2160-9357
- Publication type
Article