Project #10 Sousveillance Tool

Description

Using API's to visualize how graffiti's in New York have been removed or "cleansed" by the graffiti removal service in New York City

Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence. It is among the most common forms of vandalism committed today.

Design Process

Banksy attacks surveillance culture with new mural

• Graffiti has been a mode of expression and vandalism, there are contrasting positive and negative viewpoints on graffiti as an artform and vandalism culture.
• NYCEDC initiated the Graffiti-Free NYC (GFNYC) Program in 1999 as the first full-time, street-by-street graffiti removal service in New York City. The program began in Brooklyn, and early success prompted its expansion to the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan.
• There are so many questions you can pose with such a kind of service associating it with gentrification.

Approach

• 1. Used the API to display squares of the data of graffiti in NYC borough- wise
• 2. The corner triangles, that you can hit the keys to view represent the graffiti which has been "cleansed" by the service.

Reflection

In a gentrifying neighborhood, a new development sticks out like a sore thumb. But, by slapping a mural on the facade, developers can increase a property’s appeal, giving hopeful residents the sense that they’re not taking part in changing the local landscape, but rather joining a community whose character has been developing on its own.

Credits

This project was created based on the Article by Zach Gottehrer Cohen