Learn as a Responsible Citizen

There are three topics in this section. This information will help you discover the answer to the following questions:

  • Who is impacted by graffiti?
  • What is the legal penalty for applying graffiti?
  • Who is responsible for graffiti clean up?

Think about it!

How did you react when you saw the images of Calgary covered in graffiti? Does graffiti impact you? Would you feel safe living in a community that is covered in graffiti?

Broken Windows Theory

In 1982, a political scientist named James Q. Wilson and a criminologist named George Keeling published an article outlining their Broken Windows theory.  It states:

“If a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken... one unrepaired window is a signal that no one cares and so breaking more windows will cost nothing.”

In other words, if unacceptable or disorderly behaviour is not addressed, it signals that nobody cares.  This may result in people being afraid in their communities or schools.  There is also the possibility that more serious crime could occur.  Actions such as fixing a broken window, picking up litter or removing graffiti tell the offenders that we care about our community and that this type of behaviour is not tolerated.

Who do YOU think is impacted by graffiti?

Did you know that each piece of graffiti affects different people?

How has graffiti impacted this Calgary business owner?

How has graffiti impacted this Calgary bylaw officer?

How has graffiti impacted this Calgary bylaw employee?

How has graffiti impacted this parent of a graffer?

How has graffiti impacted this Calgary homeowner?

How has graffiti impacted this Calgary school principal and her students?

Graffiti in Calgary Moves to the Suburbs

Learn as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #1

The situation: A mural created by a local artist with permission from the city of Calgary was “tagged” by a graffer.

Your role: For this assignment, you may take on the persona of the artist that created the mural, a citizen who lives across the street from the owner, a local business owner whose shop is located across from the mural or the graffer who tagged the mural.

Your task:  Create an email that you could send to your alderman expressing your views about this incident.  Make sure to include the following in your email:

  • How do you feel about the mural?
  • How do you feel about the graffiti that was added to it?
  • Why do you think the mural was tagged and by whom?
  • What should be done about the mural?
  • How do the original mural and the graffiti impact the surrounding community?

 

Learn as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #2

How Would It Make You Feel?

Think about the videos you watched and how the people were affected by graffiti. What is like to be a victim of graffiti?

Choose one of the following options:

  1. Write a short story based on the impact of graffiti on one of the victims or individuals in the videos you watched.
  2. Write a poem about the impact of graffiti on others or your own experiences.
  3. Create a hypertext document that identifies links to other websites about graffiti. Use what you have discovered from the videos as well as some of the websites you have discovered to help explain the impact of graffiti.

Learn as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #3

Calgary is divided into 14 wards.  Each ward elects an alderman whose job it is to represent the residents of the area.  For this challenge, you will select a ward to represent as their alderman.

Imagine that city council is considering the creation of a new graffiti task force. The task force will consist of bylaw officers who devote their time solely to enforcing the portion of the Community Standards Bylaw relating to graffiti. Prepare a speech to give to city council arguing for or against the creation of this task force.  Remember to consider:

  • Your constituents who may or may not be impacted by graffiti
  • Different areas within the ward that could be targeted by graffiti more than others
  • The financial cost of cleaning up graffiti for both the city and private citizens
  •  The potential cost of running the task force
  • The effectiveness of the task force in preventing graffiti
  • Other factors relevant to the issue

 

What do you know about the legal penalties of graffiti?

Who is responsible for graffiti removal?

Believe it or not, property owners are the individuals who are responsible for ensuring that graffiti applied on their property is removed within 14 days! Bylaw Officers and Calgary Police Services enforce these regulations with fines of $150 for property owners for failure to remove the graffiti. Do you think that this fair to the property owner?

Learn as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #4

Making The Victim of Graffiti Responsible for The Cleanup: Is It The Right Thing To Do?

The City of Calgary’s Community Standards bylaw was designed to help prevent the increase of graffiti activity in our city. How would you feel if you were a property owner who had to pay for the clean up of your property? Imagine receiving a fine of $150.00 if you didn't have the money to clean up your property!

In partners or small groups discuss the following questions:

  • If you could change the law for victims of graffiti, what would you do?
  • Who should be responsible for removing graffiti?