#GraffitiArt: An under-appreciated talent that decorates Fort Lauderdale's streets

Graffiti is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed on a wall or any other surface, often illegally and in a public place. This urban or street art sometimes expresses underlying social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression based upon spray paint styles. In many urbanized areas, these drawings have become free public art displays attracting millions of tourists for their enjoyment; and some artists like Banksy have even become international celebrities.

Everything started with the commercialization of the hip-hop movement in the late 1970's. In 1979, the movement gained momentum in cities like New York, London, and Paris, where graffiti artists became the symbol of neighborhoods. In most cases, even with legally painted graffiti art, graffiti artists chose (and continue to choose) anonymity, sometimes using pseudonyms. This is because some people still view this practice as vandalism, or because the artists view it as a way to express themselves without unnecessary stardom. One could be admiring an amazing piece of street art but could be ignorant of the artist behind it. Until decades ago, graffiti was viewed as bad and was synonymous with impoverishment. Then art communities like SoHo in New York started to pop up all over the world; and with this, walls were covered by urban art that made the public see these artists in a different way. So, can this under-appreciated talent add value to our streets? 

Let's look at Wynwood down in Miami. Also referred to as "Little San Juan", and commonly known as "El Barrio" as many Puerto Ricans began immigrating to this Miami neighborhood from the island and northeastern cities in the 1950's; Wynwood has seen the biggest gentrification process in urban Florida. What started as a big group of warehouses for artists and cafes became a magnet for graffiti artists.That's when Tony Goldman, one of the pioneers behind Wynwood's gentrification, decided to bring more than 30 artists from around the world to create what is now the "Wynwood Walls", leading to an incredible increase in other street art in the surrounding area. This large arts presence brought upon Miami what is conceived as a new hipster neighborhood. Then, tourists (and their money) came from all over the world to take pictures of these incredible murals, becoming now one of the hottest spots in town. But while Wynwood grew due to its heavy art presence, it became too international for local artists to handle thus disfranchising them from the local art scene. Little by little, this amazing local talent has been relocating to Broward, and some of it to the next gentrification battleground in urban South Florida: Flagler Village, Fort Lauderdale's hottest, up-and-coming neighborhood. 

For months now, and especially during FAT Village's ArtWalk, thousands come and enjoy the local art scene; and this has become an important event for the city's urban core. Many participants such as Helium Creative, C&I Studios, and Cadence have promoted this up-and-coming art district, once a bunch of warehouses as well, to the point that the neighborhood is the forefront of a movement where arts and technology are married in a way only possible due to the rise of digital technology. Doug McGraw, the pioneer behind this urban refurbishment, has pushed for this area to become more than just a bunch of startups, a vision he had many years ago. 

But while both Wynwood and Flagler Village started this radical urbanization process pretty much the same way, South Florida's new gentrification experiment has kept it very local. As it happened down in Miami, local graffiti artists have brought their talents to "the Village". They have taken over of a stretch right next to the FEC RR tracks, making this area an amazing open-air museum that many in town do not even recognize. One of the biggest contributors has been the guys from Rolling Stock Gallery and their pals. These artists (On Instagram: @chrispykravitz, @miroizm, @stockroll, @atomiko, @newor_enivid, @chitownslugga, @bulk_styles, among others) have created, without expecting it, a spot for Broward's hipsters to take pictures and mingle just as Wynwood did down in Dade. 

If done right, and plans for a liner park along the railroad tracks move along, this could become a tourist attraction that could potentially bring more retail, restaurants, lounges, and cafes; and ultimately, make our urban core more walkable and livable at the same time. What was once thought to be vandalism; nowadays, seems to appeal to those who want to enjoy art while living an urban lifestyle. Who knew?!

Here comes the Wave, our Streetcar.

Fort Lauderdale is about to change the way people move around its urban core. 10 years ago, a downtown transit and pedestrian mobility study suggested that there was a need to invest in transit and pedestrian improvements. This study completed by the Downtown Development Authority of Fort Lauderdale (DDA), the city of Fort Lauderdale, the Community Redevelopment Agency, FDOT, Broward County, among other participants, realized a mobility issue existed since Downtown's important venues such as the Courthouse, the Bus Depot, the Main Library, all educational centers, Las Olas, or even Broward Health Medical Center were not effectively connected with each other generating unnecessary traffic congestion and parking issues in our downtown streets. 

After a long debate, the option of a streetcar, a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate right-of-ways, was selected as well as its future route. A 2.7-mile system with 10 stations was proposed serving as a downtown circulator, where people will be able to move around without having to use their cars. But it was the urban renewal happening in Portland's Pearl District that gave the idea to developers and planners here at home. This Oregon neighborhood underwent through a tremendous transformation becoming a mixed-use area full of art galleries, cafes, and shops located at high-rise condominiums and warehouse-to-loft conversions; pretty much what planners hope Fort Lauderdale could become one day. In 2001, the Portland Streetcar opened becoming the first street car system in the United States since World War II to use modern vehicles thanks to a major urban redevelopment that started in the mid-1980's.  But this system success really occurred mainly due to the fact that planners pushed for transit oriented developments (TOD).

This fast growing trend in creating vibrant, walkable, and livable communities is the creation of compact centers around high quality train systems; making it possible to live a higher quality of life without a complete dependence on a car for mobility and survival. The growing desire, especially among millenials, for urban lifestyle and the distaste for a suburban life that leads to mind-numbing traffic congestion nationwide are some of the factors that are driving this trend towards TODs. Therefore, our city planners envisioned a Downtown Fort Lauderdale with pedestrians as the highest priority and our city's Bus Depot, where All Aboard Florida's intercity service and Tri-Rail's commuter line will soon stop, becoming a prominent feature of a town center as well as a major transit hub. This regional nod containing a mixture of uses in close proximity including office, residential, retail, and civic activities requires high-density, high-quality development within a 10-minute walk radius with a collector support transit system such as the Wave Streetcar; which is enhanced by including the use of bicycles or a bike sharing system such as Broward B-cycle as well as by reducing and/or managing parking in the area more efficiently.

Render of what the Wave Streetcar would look like

For some Floridians in our metropolitan area, who are used to (and like) suburbia, this idea seemed unnecessary; calling the proposal a waste of money that could be used for something else. However, they did not realize that our city was falling behind in comparison with other regions in our country and all over the World. Luckily, our leaders foresaw the potential of this project, and a coalition of supporters that included the South Florida Regional Transit Authority made possible in 2012 to receive a green light from the Federal Transit Administration for the design and construction of the tram system, which was later ratified on July 9, 2013 by our city commissioners when approving a special tax assessment zone to fund the proposed line. With design almost completed, and as mentioned by the Transport Politic, with construction supposed to start this year, seeing our city listed as where major transit investments are happening this year in North America is something very uncommon; however, one can only hope this is just the beginning of an era of transformation that will not only help us catch up with the trend and progress but also make us more competitive as a city in the long run.  With approximately 4,000 new residential units proposed to be built (approximately 1,600 currently under construction) in our urban core in addition to all the retail space these developments will bring along, these are good times indeed to be part of the change that will make Fort Lauderdale a World-class city for all to enjoy.