Research Information System
Megaron, vol.15, no.3, pp.350-368, 2020 (ESCI)
This research paper aims to discuss the spatial interaction of graffiti as unauthorized marking activity in public spaces. It proposes to clarify whyinteractions between graffiti and people in public spaces are important, and how graffiti evokes an external stimulus on people who see thesemarks on the surfaces of public spaces. In this article, the spatial effect of graffiti on the street is discussed through the concept of place-making.The importance of graffiti in public spaces began to be discussed in the early 1980s, and was considered t a kind of unauthorized street activityoften associated with vandalism. However, in the 2000s this changed slightly and graffiti also began to be considered as a profound actor inbringing vitality and increased sociability to the streets according to the qualities of place-making. This drastic change in seeing graffiti hasintensified the discussions about the new relationships between the concept of place-making and the motivations for graffiti writing in publicspaces. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to examine the various interactions between people and public spaces over the socialand spatial effects of graffiti. Through a Qualitative Research approach based on a deeper understanding of social life, this paper focuses onthe interactions between graffiti and people in public spaces. The conceptual framework of the paper is based on Whyte’s Triangulation Processand the qualities of the sense of place that are related to place-making practice derived from the seminal literature of this work . Accordingly, acase study was completed via field work covering thirty-six months between 2015-2018. This fieldwork was conducted in the Karakoy Underpass,where Istanbul’s graffiti-covered surfaces are frequently noticed. During the observation period, fifty-four different graffiti configurations wereobserved in situ and collected as visual documentation using photo and video recordings. Additionally, during the interview period of the fieldwork, conversations using semi-structured questions were carried out with the pedestrians passing through, graffiti writers, and the shopkeepersin the Karakoy Underpass. In order to decompose the data collected from the fieldwork, a prototype “Cross Matrix Table” was designed to showthe multiple relationships between the spatial effect of graffiti and the triangulated interaction of public spaces. This Table also highlights thetriangulated position of graffiti as an external stimulus that connects with the people as actors of everyday urban flux in public spaces. This paper provides empirical insights on how the Triangulation Process reflects the social interactions in public spaces. Accordingly, this research paperincludes Qualitative Research steps of data collection and decomposes the findings with a suggested model “Cross Matrix Table” at the end ofthe study. The suggested “Cross Matrix Table” model with the decomposed data and case study demonstrates that there is an architectural needto investigate how everyday street art activities can reflect the qualities of the sense of place. This study not only enables graffiti to be seen as anactivity performed on the street, but also to arouse interest in the concept of triangulation itself