RESEARCH

The program of research builds on a preliminary review of Canadian municipal bylaw legislation (conducted from June to October 2004 by Tricia Irish), and includes a detailed comparison of existing municipal legislation in Canada, a review of the literature, and an analysis of social impacts, costs, legal implications, aesthetic concerns, and comparison with international jurisdictions. The website includes a presentation by Marshall Soules and Tricia Irish at the Visual Culture Conference, "Image, Icon, Ideology" held at the Kansas State University, March 10, 2005.

The goal of the research is two-fold: to create a comparative repository of by-law language and summary of the literature for municipalities writing or revising legislation; and to analyze graffiti and postering as cultural phenomena revealing issues of class, perceptions of criminality, degrees of legislative control and orderliness, and concerns over urban aesthetics. Preliminary research and networking have revealed considerable interest from municipalities struggling with the issue of graffiti and postering, and it is to this audience that the research is primarily addressed. It is hoped that the research will contribute to a policy paper on the management of unsanctioned images in Canadian municipalities.

Funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Assistance for Small Universities) and Malaspina Research Activities Committee have provided support to date for this project.