One point made in the film is that cities like San Paolo have removed all forms of advertisement on city façades and that this resulted in a closer connection between citizen and city. The dilapidation of certain parts of the city was more obvious without massive Coca Cola advertisements blocking them up, while its natural beauty shone forth without illuminating neon signs.
Closer to home, this weekend I visited a city in my country that seems to encourage creative graffiti. Ugly scaffolding has been covered in colourful art work and buildings along the docks have murals painted with a running theme throughout. I am unsure as to the origin of this art and how 'authentic' it is as graffiti but it is certainly a pleasant change from what I would be used to in our capital.
This situations are different yet related. San Paolo ditched advertisement and adornment in order to highlight the true nature of the city. My recent visit was to a city that encouraged adornment in order to connect the citizens more closely with their city. In both cases, the people of the city have taken control of their environment and in different ways fostered a unique identity.
Our capital in particular could learn from these projects.
-The English Student
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