Supporting Successful Community Street Paintings

Abstract

This thesis explores the history and current practice of Intersection-Repair-style street paintings in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. It assesses relationships between functions street paintings perform and reasons people want to paint, and suggests that the better these factors align, the greater the likelihood of successful street painting projects that can contribute to city livability and sustainability goals. Street painting history was gathered via archival research, site visits, and interviews with city officials in Portland and Seattle and people from the City Repair Project in Portland. Seattle street painting organizers and participants shared their motivations and experiences via interviews and an online survey. After assessing street painting processes and outcomes in Seattle and comparing municipal guidance to that in Portland where the street painting phenomenon originated, this thesis suggests ways to improve Seattle’s messaging and municipal rules and guidance to support better alignment between street painters’ motivations and painting functions.