Brussels allocates roughly €100,000 each year to new murals through the Call to Walls programme and runs regular graffiti walking tours. The budget covers paint and fees for artists.

From zero tolerance to cultural policy

During the 1980s most European cities pursued zero‑tolerance policies that aimed to eliminate graffiti, linking it to urban decay and crime. In recent years many of those walls have been replaced by officially approved murals that celebrate local heritage, attract cultural tourists and sometimes convey political messages.

Legal walls across the continent

Numerous municipalities have created legal walls where anyone may paint without risk of prosecution. Stockholm installed a wooden scribble board in 1968 that is repainted each day and invites the public to add marks. Legal‑wall schemes now exist in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London and many smaller towns.

Vienna maintains a dense network of legal walls that is said to keep illegal tagging rates low, although a 2015 study commissioned by Safer Sweden found no clear proof that such walls reduce unauthorised graffiti. The Safer Sweden study reported that 23 % of Swedish municipalities observed a decline in illegal markings after introducing legal walls, 42 % saw no change and the remaining municipalities reported mixed outcomes. Critics argue that the methodology of the study does not capture longer‑term effects, leaving the impact of legal walls uncertain.

Funding, tourism and community impact

Lisbon’s city government collaborated with local artists to produce large paintings that illustrate Portugal’s move from authoritarian rule to democracy. The works are funded from the municipal cultural budget and marketed as a visual lesson for tourists and school groups.

The council of Ostend supports an annual street‑art festival that gives artists free use of municipal walls. The city sells printed maps of the artworks to visitors, generating a modest source of income and higher foot traffic in previously neglected areas.

Brussels’ graffiti tours have become a regular part of the city’s tourism offering, drawing visitors to neighbourhoods that might otherwise be overlooked. Bristol and Barcelona are internationally known as street‑art hubs and run guided tours that generate notable revenue for local businesses.

Cities often invite artists through open calls, festivals or curatorial programmes, offering modest payments, materials and publicity. This creates open‑air galleries that attract tourists and strengthen neighbourhood identity.

Critiques and political concerns

A graffiti writer from Belgrade expressed indifference toward legal graffiti and the muralist scene, arguing that state‑funded projects dilute the rebellious spirit of the culture, impose censorship and reduce spontaneity. He also noted that in cities such as Milan and Amsterdam commissioned murals can complement new architecture and enrich public spaces.

In Serbia walls in Belgrade and Novi Sad have been painted with partisan slogans aimed at opposition politicians, including 2023 stencils naming Milica Lazljivica and Milos Francuz. The works are linked to pro‑government groups and were not awarded through transparent tender processes, raising concerns about political intimidation.

In Russia federal and regional programmes have commissioned murals that glorify the invasion of Ukraine, placing pro‑militarist images on school façades, municipal buildings and public squares. Critics describe this as propaganda rather than community enrichment.

Future questions

As more municipalities allocate budget lines for murals and legal walls, questions arise about long‑term sustainability, potential upkeep costs and whether legal walls actually reduce illegal tagging or simply coexist with it. Researchers emphasise the need for systematic data collection to evaluate the social return on investment of street‑art programmes, noting the difficulty of comparing such spending with other urban priorities such as affordable housing, public transport or climate‑resilient infrastructure.

Street art has shifted from a marginal activity to a central element of cultural policy in many European cities.