ink pens and actual paint and brush are used. Graffiti is on almost
all the walls, all the over passes, in the Metro system, scratched
into the windows of the train cars (like you'll see on BART sometimes)
The ground has stickers on them (some are ads, and some are like the
Obey the Giant ads).
To be fair, some places are very clean, and we've seen certain
shopkeepers and others handwashing the sidewalk in front of their
store, their steps, or mopping outside their business.
I suspect it is less that Madrid has more graffiti than any other big
city, I just think that they have made the decision not to fight it.
There seems to be no abatement program, nor a longterm plan (or funds)
to systematically clean it up. They do have street sweepers (to pick
up the loose junk on the ground)
I've not lived in New York. I believe that one thing that Rudy
Guiliani did was fight the small crime first (vandalism, broken
windows, and graffiti) with the intent to not let neighborhoods
visually fall into dispair, possibly leading to bigger issues.
Madrid seems like a pretty safe city. To our eyes, we've not really
found places that are any sketchier than say parts of the Mission (and
we wouldn't even go into Hunters Point). Avoiding the pimps and their
employees, and keeping a wary eye about seems to help make you a
harder target for those that target tourists.
I am a proud American, but if I become the LOUD AMERICAN TOURIST that
is so common, I will start as a target, and end as a victim.
I don't prefer that, and to circle back, I think Madrid should
consider the image they are projecting by not cleaning up after their
residents.
Hasta proxima!
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