I remember on the corner of Burton Rd. and 98th ave where I grew up there was an electrical box that would get spray painted by taggers every few weeks. The punk kids would vandalize it and then the city would paint over it. A few days later the kids would vandalize it again and the city would paint over it again. It was kind of funny…though I was just a kid at the time. In our neighborhood there’s been some recent tagging done on some of the buildings and its really becoming a problem. Vandalism sucks.

But I’ve stolen this new idea that we’re bringing to Vancouver. Were giving out these latex stickers (latex–so that they’ll come off easily) to people who will commit to putting them on abandoned buildings, empty storefronts, and unused spaces with their answer written down. “I wish this was a…”

The goal, the hope, the point is that we’re both trying to stretch our communities imagination, to dream about what could be rather than simply what is. And we’re also looking to capture publicly what the neighbors hope emerges in the streets surrounding our homes.

I’m not down with tagging (though I do love quality graffiti) but minimal vandalism that serves a greater purpose…I’m ok with that. It’s empowering, it’s grassroots, and I hope it stimulates our minds a bit.