Does Graffiti Affect Safety On Our Streets?

The benefits of art for well-being and mental health are well <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/blog/how-arts-can-help-improve-your-mental-health" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">documented</a>. But does this stretch to graffiti and street art? Recently,  <a href="https://medium.com/u/79e7290399a7?source=post_page-----abdf48bbbdef--------------------------------" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mary Chang Story Writer</a>  published a series of pieces showing graffiti and street art from around the world in her <a href="https://medium.com/six-word-photo-story-challenge" rel="noopener">Six-Word Photo Story</a> publication. Some incredible artwork has been on show and it made me wonder about the wider question. Awesome murals hiding the banal bleakness of a blank wall surely make a street more inviting, a happier place. Does anyone argue the case for the blank wall — an expanse of concrete render or old chipped bricks — over something like this, photographed by  <a href="https://medium.com/u/98fe92c4f0cc?source=post_page-----abdf48bbbdef--------------------------------" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CARMEN F MICSA</a> ? <h2><a href="https://medium.com/six-word-photo-story-challenge/life-looks-good-on-us-d3886b545615?source=post_page-----abdf48bbbdef--------------------------------" rel="noopener follow" target="_blank">Life Looks Good on Us</a></h2> <h1>Does Graffiti & Street Art Make An Area Safer?</h1> To my mind, a street with busy shops, colours, lights, and people, has a friendlier vibe — and a safer one — than a badly lit street of blank, closed, shop fronts. Who wouldn’t feel safer with this artwork, photographed by  <a href="https://medium.com/u/1efc0ab4e2a3?source=post_page-----abdf48bbbdef--------------------------------" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Randy Runtsch</a> , overlooking the street? <a href="https://medium.com/illumination/does-graffiti-affect-safety-on-our-streets-abdf48bbbdef">Learn More</a>