Is graffiti public art, or public nuisance? It depends who you ask. Zachary Crockett tags in where it all started.

RESOURCES:

• "Philadelphia Graffiti Pier: A Love Letter to the City’s Underground Arts," by Honora Feinberg (Guide to Philly, 2023).
• "USA TODAY Names Philadelphia 'Best City for Street Art,'" (Visit Philadelphia, 2023).
• "Cornbread, the First Graffiti Artist, Shows New Work at Philadelphia Gallery," by Peter Crimmins (WHYY, 2019).
• "Porch Light Program: Final Evaluation Report," by Jacob Kraemer Tebes, Samantha L. Matlin, Bronwyn Hunter, Azure B. Thompson, Dana M. Prince, and Nathaniel Mohatt (Yale School of Medicine, 2015).
• "Graffiti Triggers Crime, Littering, Study Shows," by Jeanna Bryner (NBC News, 2008).
• "Problem-Oriented Guides for Police: Graffiti," by Deborah Lamm Weisel (D.O.J. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2004).

EXTRA:

• "Urinetown," by Tell Me Something I Don't Know (2017).

SOURCES:

• Thomas Conway, deputy managing director of the City of Philadelphia's Community Life Improvement Program.
• Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia.
• REPOZ, graffiti artist.