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Graffiti in Portland, Oregon

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Graffiti in Portland, Oregon, 2010

Graffiti is a cause of disagreement among residents of Portland, Oregon.[1] Residents can report graffiti and request removal.[2] In 2023, a poll conducted by The Oregonian showed 61 percent of Portland voters considered graffiti a "big" problem.[3]

Prevalence

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Portland saw a marked rise in graffiti during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] The city has also seen "tagger tourism", or people visiting for the purpose of spray painting illegally.[6] According to KPTV, "Portland's location on the I-5 corridor means that transient taggers often stop off to leave their mark. It’s an underground culture of dedicated wall writers leaving their mark on a city, that’s eager to buff it out."[7]

Removal efforts

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The graffiti increase during the pandemic prompted city council to strengthen removal efforts.[8][9]

In 2021, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) hired River City Environmental to remove graffiti along three highways.[10][11] As of 2022, the local company Portland Graffiti Removal removed graffiti for ODOT.[12][13] In late 2022, the city hired Graffiti Removal Services to create "preventative graffiti".[2]

ODOT's $2 million in funding ran out in 2023.[14][15] In 2024, the Oregon legislature allocated $4 million for ODOT for addressing graffiti.[16][17] Synthetic ivy has been used on walls in an attempt to deter graffiti.[18]

The city requires building owners to remove graffiti within 10 days or risk a fine.[19] In practice, the code is not being enforced against property owners.[20] In 2024, commissioner Rene Gonzalez proposed "meaningful" penalties for graffiti vandals.[21] His proposal did not receive a vote before he left office.[22]

Police have also arrested major offenders.[23][24] In 2024, police raided the house of a suspected graffiti vandal who was featured on a YouTube series.[25][26] The same man was later arrested.[27] Another man received a 2.5 year prison sentence.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Portland businesses fed up with graffiti, 15 July 2023, archived from the original on 2023-09-09, retrieved 2023-09-09
  2. ^ a b "Portland cleanup team putting up preventative graffiti to ward off vandals". kgw.com. December 17, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  3. ^ "61% of Portland voters call graffiti 'big' problem, poll from The Oregonian/OregonLive finds". The Oregonian. 2022-10-23. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  4. ^ "It's Another Record Year for Portland Graffiti". Willamette Week. 2022-09-08. Archived from the original on 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  5. ^ "City battles graffiti problem in Northeast Portland". kgw.com. November 21, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  6. ^ "Cracking down on Portland's 'tagger tourism'". KOIN.com. 2024-11-19. Archived from the original on 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  7. ^ Kaplan, Ezra (2024-05-07). "Portland's graffiti problem: A game of cat and mouse". KPTV. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  8. ^ "City officials share what graffiti looks like in Portland and their plan to combat it". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  9. ^ Allison, Megan (2022-03-18). "City and state agencies add resources to tackle graffiti around Portland". KATU. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  10. ^ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2021-06-08). "Oregon beefs up graffiti removal along Portland freeways but struggles to eradicate it". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  11. ^ "ODOT hires contractor to help clean graffiti along Portland freeways". kgw.com. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  12. ^ "Totally tagged: What's being done about Portland's graffiti problem". kgw.com. August 22, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  13. ^ Gallivan, Joseph (2022-03-09). "Tag, you're it: Scrubbing Portland's graffiti". PortlandTribune.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  14. ^ "ODOT awards $2M in contracts to clean up graffiti and litter in Portland". kgw.com. February 19, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  15. ^ "ODOT is out of money for removing graffiti around Portland". kgw.com. August 29, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Ezra (2024-06-12). "Major Portland highway closure scheduled for graffiti cleanup". KPTV. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  17. ^ "'Clean up the community': Oregon Department of Transportation starts graffiti cleanup along Portland highways". kgw.com. 2024-05-08. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  18. ^ Haas, Elise (March 12, 2025). "Graffiti out, ivy in to 'make Portland beautiful again'". Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  19. ^ Liedle, Chris (2019-07-02). "Portland business turn to street artists to help deter graffiti taggers". KATU. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  20. ^ "Why Local Leaders Can't Seem to Clean the Graffiti Off Portland". Willamette Week. 2024-01-31. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  21. ^ "Gonzalez to Introduce Ordinance Creating New Penalties for Graffiti". Willamette Week. 2024-09-13. Archived from the original on 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  22. ^ Shaikh, Zaeem (2025-01-14). "Portland graffiti crackdown scrubbed from agenda". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2025-04-02. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  23. ^ "A pro skateboarder is accused of tagging graffiti all over Portland". kgw.com. August 24, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  24. ^ "'Nobody wants dozens of felony counts': Graffiti investigation in Portland leads police to cache of guns". kgw.com. April 25, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  25. ^ a b "Police raid Portland's 'King of Graffiti' after viral YouTube video". KATU. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  26. ^ "YouTube docuseries leads to $10K of spray paint in alleged graffiti artist's Portland home". Archived from the original on 2025-01-11. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  27. ^ Todd, Tatum (2025-01-02). "Alleged Portland graffiti tagger arrested after avoiding capture for months; police find $10K worth of spray paint in his house". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
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