American cities are grappling with an unprecedented surge of graffiti

New York (CTK reporter) - Many American cities have recently been facing an unprecedented influx of graffiti. City officials explain this, for example, as a result of alienation due to the country's poor economic situation. They also attribute it to the popularity that graffiti enjoys in museums or in television commercials. This was reported today by The New York Times.
  One of the cities where new graffiti are appearing almost daily is the metropolis of Los Angeles on the West Coast. In contrast, New York, Chicago, and Denver have so far resisted due to strict anti-graffiti campaigns. However, problems are not limited to cities like Nashville in Tennessee, Portland in Oregon, or smaller towns like Taylors in South Carolina or Florence in Alabama.
  "Out of nowhere, graffiti started appearing here in the last six months," says Tim Sandrell, the owner of a hair salon in Florence. "I've been in the downtown area for ten years and I'm disappointed to see something like this. We live in a beautiful and historic city, and I don't feel comfortable when something like this happens," he added.
  In Los Angeles, nearly 3.3 million square meters of graffiti were removed in the last fiscal year, which ended in June. This was 8.2 percent more than the previous year. The increase in spray paintings comes at a time when the city has to save money. Last year, it cut the budget for fighting graffiti by 6.5 percent to 7.1 million dollars. However, graffiti is also increasing in nearby Santa Monica, where the budget was not cut.
  Various explanations have been offered for the unprecedented increase in graffiti activity. One discussion suggests it could be an early sign of alienation and fears about the future in certain urban areas where unemployment is high and which have been heavily affected by the recent recession. For example, in Los Angeles, 11 percent of people are unemployed.
  According to some opinions, another factor could be summer, when young people are not in school, and police officers go on vacation. "People know that there are no police officers here, or that they are dealing with other issues," noted Santa Monica City Council member Bobby Shriver.
  Another possible culprit for the increase in interest in graffiti is said to be popular culture. Supporters of this view point out that spray paintings, for example, "celebrate" various exhibitions in galleries. "The art world has embraced them. People are making money off t-shirts with graffiti designs. I was at the supermarket during Easter, and there were eggs painted in graffiti style," says Marcia Dennis from the Los Angeles police, who is responsible for combating graffiti in Portland, adding that producing graffiti is addictive. According to her, those who create graffiti simply cannot stop easily. She also thinks they believe that they can break through and become rich like the world-renowned street artist Banksy or Shepard Fairey, who created the famous portrait of Barack Obama that became an icon of the successful presidential campaign of the current American president.
  Cities are now thinking about how to defend against the wave of graffiti. In Portland, for example, they are planning foot patrols that will walk the city after dark. However, city officials point out that the fight against graffiti is often undermined by empty city coffers. "Cities no longer have the budgets they once had for cleaning (walls). And the police no longer have the resources they once had for patrolling," said William Braton, who previously led the police in New York and Los Angeles.