"To this end, we have chosen a series of interrogations of common dialectical positions in talk of graffiti: is it art or crime; is it public or private expression; is it necessarily ephemeral, or does it seek permanence; is it a purely cultural practice, or is it economic? Our list is by no means exhaustive, but it does go some way to uncovering the complexity of graffiti’s dynamic and contested geographies."
From: McAuliffe, C. and K. Iveson (2011) Art and Crime (and Other Things Besides...): Conceptualising Graffiti in the City. Geography Compass 5/3 (2011): 128–143, 10.1111/j.1749-8198.2011.00414.x