
TRANSFORMING URBAN AESTHETICS: INVESTIGATING STREET ART'S INFLUENCE ON CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT AND PERCEPTION
Abstract
Street art, once relegated to the margins of artistic expression, has increasingly become a prominent feature of urban landscapes, profoundly influencing city aesthetics and the daily experiences of its inhabitants [5, 7, 8, 10]. This article presents an investigation into the multifaceted role of street art in shaping citizen experience within urban environments. Through a comprehensive qualitative review of extant literature, we analyze how street art contributes to the artistic design of architectural and urban spaces, fosters public engagement, and impacts perceptions of place and identity. The study identifies key themes including the evolution of street art from subversive to mainstream, its capacity to activate public spaces, its involvement in urban regeneration, and its growing presence within digital and festival contexts. By synthesizing insights from urban planning, sociology, and art theory, this review demonstrates that street art transcends mere decoration, acting as a dynamic catalyst for citizen interaction, cultural expression, and the ongoing evolution of the urban fabric. The findings underscore the critical importance of recognizing street art's agency in enhancing the citizen experience and promoting sustainable, human-centered urban development.
Keywords
Urban aesthetics, street art, citizen engagement
References
Seamless Kyiv: why we should all think more about citizen experience. (2024). The Village Ukraine. https://www.village.com.ua/village/city/how-it-works-city/354547-bezshovniy-kiyiv-chomu-nam-usimvarto-bilshe-dumati-pro-citizen-experience
Sim, D. (2019). Soft city. Washington: Island Pres.
Praslova, V. (2023). Public art as an artistic way of development of the architectural and urban environment. Current problems of architecture and urban planning, (67), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.32347/2077-3455.2023.67.72-80
Praslova, V. (2024a). History of formation and current trends, theoretical and methodological foundations of artistic design. In Artistic design of architectural and urban environment (p. 220). KNUBA.
Mintz, S. (2024). Street art’s journey from the margins to the mainstream. Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/2024/08/21/street-arts-journey-margins-mainstream
Mintz, S. (2024). The Learning-Centered University. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Mancini, L. (2019). Graffiti as a gift: street art’s conceptual emergence. Nuart journal, 1(2), 30–35. https://nuartjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Nuart-Journal_vol1-no2-07_Mancini.pdf
Blanché, U. (2015). Street Art and related terms. SAUC-Street Art and Urban Creativity, 1(1), 32−39. https://doi.org/10.25765/sauc.v1i1.14
Dymna, E., & Rutkiewicz, M. (2012). Polish street art: Part 2: Between anarchy and gallery. Warsaw: Carta Blanca.
Schwartzman, A. (1985). Street art. NY: Doubleday.
Shebek, N., Timokhin, V., Tretiak, Y., Kolmakov, I., & Olkhovets, O. (2020). Sustainable development and harmonization of the architectural environment of cities. E3S Web of Conferences, 166, 09001. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202016609001
Di Stefano, E. (2019). Art in the streets. Artification strategies for public space. 3rd International Conference on Environmental Design, 121. https://demetracerimed.com/wp-content
Golovatyuk, A. (2022). Semantic architectural stereotypes of public public space of the city [thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy]. KNUBA..
MacDowall, L. J., & de Souza, P. (2017). ‘I’d Double Tap That!!’: street art, graffiti, and Instagram research. Media, Culture & Society, 40(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717703793
Molnár, V. (2017). Street Art and the Changing Urban Public Sphere. Public Culture, 29(2–82), 385–414. https://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-3749117
Abyzov, V., & Chuieva, O. (2021). Murals and their evolution and typology in the space of the urban environment on the example of Kyiv. Środowisko Mieszkaniowe, (35), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700sm.21.016.14859
Bąkowska, M. (2007). Images in architecture – from murals to illuminating projections. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 31(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.3846/13921630.2007.10697090
Kang Song, Y. I., & Gammel, J. A. (2011). Ecological Mural as Community Reconnection. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 30(2), 266–278. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-8070.2011.01696.x
The role of art in urban gentrification and regeneration: aesthetic, social and economic developments | Il capitale culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage. Riviste digitali – Università degli studi di Macerata. https://rivisteopen.unimc.it/index.php/cap-cult/article/view/753
Moss, K. L. (2010). Cultural Representation in Philadelphia Murals: Images of Resistance and Sites of Identity Negotiation. Western Journal of Communication, 74(4), 372–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2010.492819
Skinner, J., & Jolliffe, L. (2018). Murals and tourism: Heritage, politics and identity. Abingdon: Routledge.
Conrad, D. (1995). Community Murals as Democratic Art and Education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 29(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.2307/3333522
Krzywik, A. (2022). Rola murali we współczesnym funkcjonowaniu miejskich ruchów społecznych w przestrzeni publicznej miast. Przegląd wybranych działań artystycznych. The role of murals in the contemporary functioning of urban social movements in the public space of cities. A review of selected artistic activities. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 18(2), 116–131. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.18.2.06
Rolston, B. (2012). Re-imaging: Mural painting and the state in Northern Ireland. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(5), 447–466. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877912451810
Rutkiewicz M. (2013). Murale w Polsce. Czytając mury. Książka fotograficzna. Gdańsk: Instytut Kultury Miejskiej. Murals in Poland. Reading Walls. Photobook. Gdańsk: Institute of Urban Culture.
Balcerak, M. (2023). Murale w procesie kształtowania przestrzeni publicznej poprzez sztukę [doctoral dissertation]. UAM. Murals in the process of shaping public space through art [doctoral dissertation]. UAM.
Maluga, L. (2019). Mural as a visual form in the architectural and urban space of Mexico. Architectus, (3(59)). https://doi.org/10.37190/arc190306
Salij-Hofman, B. (2022). Z piedestału na ścianę. Wrocławskie murale upamiętniające jako nowe pomniki w przestrzeni miejskiej. From the pedestal to the wall. Wrocław's commemorative murals as new monuments in urban space. Quart, (1(63)), 102–121. https://doi.org/10.19195/quart.2022.1.90759
Smoczyńska A. & Łapiński J. L. (2019). Murale jako galeria sztuki w krajobrazie miejskim na przykładzie miasta Lublin. Prace Komisji Krajobrazu Kulturowego, 41(1), 7−24.
Mendelson-Shwartz, E., & Mualam, N. (2020). Taming murals in the city: a foray into mural policies, practices, and regulation. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2020.1722115
Petri, J. (2018). Touched by a Mural: Somatic Aspects of Urban Participation. Art Inqiuiry, 20. https://doi.org/10.26485/ai/2018/20/11
Cudny W. (2016). Festivalisation of urban spaces factors, processes and effects. New York: Springer International Publishing.
Finkel, R., & Platt, L. (2020). Cultural festivals and the city. Geography Compass, 14(9). https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12498
Macdonald, A. (2022). Festivals and the City. The Contested Geographies of Urban Events. London: University of Westminster Press.
Van Aalst, I., & van Melik, R. (2012). City festivals and urban development: does place matter? European Urban and Regional Studies, 19(2), 195–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776411428746
MacDowall, L., & Budge, K. (2022). Art after Instagram: Art spaces, audiences, aesthetics. New York: Routledge.
Kwon, M. (2004). One place after another: Site-specific art and locational identity. Cambridge: MIT press.
Wiles, D. (2003). A short history of Western performance space. United Kingdom: Cambridge: University Press.
Rushmore, R.J. (2014). Viral Art. How the internet has shaped street art and graffiti. Miami: Arts & Entertainment.
Praslova, V., & Riabets, Y. (2023). Modern Trends of Organization of the Underground Urban Space. Architecture, Civil Engineering, Environment, 16(2), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.2478/acee-2023-0014
Private enterprise NTK Television and Radio Company. (2021, July 5). The sixth festival of street art “Art-vision” took place in Kolomyia [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjfuYzjhilk
Shov, G., & Potter, P. (2023). Banksy: You are an acceptable level of threat (If you were not, you would know about it). yiv: ArtHuss.
Praslova, V. (2024b). Basics of artistic design of the architectural and urban environment. In Artistic design of architectural and urban environment (132 p.). KNUBA
Praslova, V. (2023b). Light as an artistic tool of designing the architectural and urban environment. Current problems of architecture and urban planning, (66), 58–69. https://doi.org/10.32347/2077-3455.2023.66.58-69
Praslova, V. (2022). Media art as a direction for the development of artistic design of the architectural environment. Current problems of architecture and urban planning, (62), 304–313. https://doi.org/10.32347/2077-3455.2022.62.304-313
(W)ego installation at Dutch Design Week 2017. MVRDV – Architects. https://www.mvrdv.com/news/595/wego-installation-at-dutch-design-week-2017
Sandulyak, A. (2013). 10 bright examples of public art in the world - bit.ua Media about life and technologies in it. bit.ua Media about life and technologies in it. https://bit.ua/2013/10/10-yarkyh-prymerov-pablykarta-v-myre/
Maas, W. (2020). MVRDV – Glass Mural. MVRDV – Architects. https://www.mvrdv.com/projects/441/glass-mural
Article Statistics
Downloads
Copyright License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Kavita Desai, Ritu Sharma (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Download Citations
How to Cite
Download Citation
Similar Articles
- Dr. Nalini Sharma, THE ROLE OF COMMUNAL OPEN SPACES IN FOSTERING SOCIAL INTERACTION WITHIN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 7 No. 07 (2025): Volume 07 Issue 07
- Dr. Amina H. El-Khalil, INTEGRATED VERTICAL SETTLEMENTS: FOSTERING SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIFESTYLES , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 7 No. 05 (2025): Volume 07 Issue 05
- FO MAOZHENG, PROF. ZURINAWATI BINTI MOHI, DR. ABHIJIT GHOSH , An analysis of the effects of growing tourism on the economy and society in China's Fenghuang District , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 01 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 01
- ZHOU HUI , DR MOHAMMED SALEH NUSARI DR MOHAMMED SALEH NUSARI, DR. AIMAN AL-ODAINI DR. AIMAN AL-ODAINI, China's Environmental Modernization Challenges: An Examination Based on the Lesser Plateau Watershed Restoration Project , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 02 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 02
- WANG LU, DR. ZULKARNAIN A. HATTA, Revival of jazz from historically china: yellow music to jazz , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 01 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 01
- Dr. Helena Costa, FRAMEWORKS AND METHODOLOGIES FOR EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACES IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 7 No. 03 (2025): Volume 07 Issue 03
- Dr. Deepak S. Menon, HARMONIZING FUNCTIONALITY AND INCLUSIVITY IN INDIAN INTERIOR DESIGN: A UNIVERSAL APPROACH , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 7 No. 04 (2025): Volume 07 Issue 04
- ZHOU MINGWU, DR. AIMAN AL-ODAINI DR. AIMAN AL-ODAINI, DR MOHAMMED SALEH NUSARI DR MOHAMMED SALEH NUSARI, An examination of China's most prominent river in light of water shortages, climate shifts, and urban responses , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 02 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 02
- ZHANG JINYUE, DR. YASMIN CHE ANI, DR. NORAISYAH TAJUDIN, An Investigation into the Impact of Urbanization in China: Enhancing Meteorological Research and Forecasting Models – Chemistry , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 02 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 02
- QI LE, DR NOOR ALIA BT AWANG, DR MUKIL ALAGIRISAMY, Research on On-Demand Autonomous Vehicle Automation Systems Using AI-Powered Smart Cities , Journal of Management and Architecture Research: Vol. 6 No. 01 (2024): Volume 06 Issue 01
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.