someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Lots of skaters at the skate park yesterday - the dramatic overpass probably adds to the fun. Shows that kids will use official infrastructure rather than damage public places if you give them stuff that's well-designed. Maybe the city should open official graffiti parks? Concrete slabs that are meant to be drawn on - and not sponsored murals or whatnot. Actual spaces where graffiti artists can compete with one another to create organically changing designs.
In a perfect world that would work really well. There are a lot of graffiti artists that are exactly that: artists. They create wonderful work although sometimes break laws in the process. But for every one of those skilled artists, there is a gang tagger...and they don't take too kindly to being painted over. I see an public space where graffiti is encouraged working only if there is a law enforcement presence, like the cameras used in the (former) club district.
The abandoned linseed oil factory at Lansdowne and Dundas is basically an open canvas (although one must trespass to use it). It has some beauty to it but the barbed wire fences and "No Trespassing" signs tend to deter the less adventurous...not to mention the squatters. See for yourself