To make its best first impression on the droves of visitors expected this summer in Philadelphia, the city has launched an anti-graffiti cleanup campaign. But those cleanup areas do not match up with where Philadelphia residents actually ask for it the most.
In the fall, the city began an $11.5 million beautification project ahead of this summer’s series of major events — the World Cup, the nation’s 250th celebration, and the MLB All-Star Game — that included new landscaping and graffiti cleanup. The Gateways to Philadelphia project focused on seven major transit areas that could be a visitor’s first glimpse of the city, where new murals and fresh flowers replace sparse medians and graffiti.
Those gateways were:
- 26th Street Gateway at Penrose Avenue.
- South Street Bridge, walls, medians, and ramps.
- 30th Street Station walls, medians, and ramps.
- I-676 interchange at 15th and 16th Streets and Vine Street.
- I-676 interchange at Sixth and Eighth Streets and Callowhill/Vine Streets.
- I-76 and I-95 interchange at Second and Third Streets and Callowhill/Vine Streets.
- CSX/Amtrak wall at Spring Garden Street.
Meanwhile, the hot spots for graffiti cleanup requests through 311 last year were most densely clustered in West Philly, South Philly, and Northern Liberties. Despite three gateway locations being a short distance from high-density areas, they are on the opposite side of the Schuylkill from the hot spots.
In 2025, residents submitted 10,141 requests for graffiti removal, and nearly all of them have since been marked closed. There was a seasonal spike in the spring, with residents filing over 1,100 requests each in March and April.
(function() {
var l2 = function() {
new pym.Parent(‘iframe_test’,
‘https://media.inquirer.com/world_cup_graffiti/iframe_graffiti_wc_map.html’);
};
if (typeof(pym) === ‘undefined’) {
var h = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0],
s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.type = ‘text/javascript’;
s.src = ‘https://pym.nprapps.org/pym.v1.min.js’;
s.onload = l2;
h.appendChild(s);
} else {
l2();
}
})();
Sara Lorenz, 45, lives in one of the corridors with a high amount of graffiti cleanup requests, along Baltimore Avenue in West Philly. She said graffiti typically gets cleaned up fairly quickly in the area, particularly near businesses, but sometimes it lingers and becomes an eyesore. Lorenz makes a distinction between artful graffiti and careless markings, and said it would do some good if the city had an initiative targeting the latter on blocks like hers.
Lorenz said she understands the city’s desire to make its best appeal to tourists this summer, but it would be nice if the beautification efforts went toward the typical Philadelphian, too.
“As residents, we also deserve respect,” she said.
Efficient response time
It could be that some Philly residents also want graffiti removed from the city’s chosen gateways, and that people are less likely to contact 311 for what they witness while driving on major roadways. Some other residents living near Lorenz said they had not noticed graffiti much around them and were not bothered about the city’s beautification plans.
The city is clear that the gateways project was prompted by visitors, but there are plans for at least some of it to continue after the guests leave. The beautification project is expected to be completed sometime this summer, and a maintenance plan has been put in place for the new installations, according to Keisha McCarty, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Office of Clean and Green Initiatives.
“If you want the city to look clean, you want to do it where it’s most visible,” said Fikru Bekele, 75, the owner of multiple properties along Baltimore Avenue, who said he understands the city’s focus on visitors. He said he has gotten used to residents not receiving as much attention as higher-profile projects do.
“It’s not the right thing but it’s the way it is. … Neighborhoods need to be taken care of, too,” he said.
However, graffiti removal in Philadelphia neighborhoods might not need additional focus, because the city’s existing program appears to be working efficiently. Graffiti removal requests submitted to 311 are passed along to the Philadelphia Community Life Improvement Program, known as CLIP. It took 311 and CLIP crews eight days on average to close graffiti removal requests last year, with five days as the median closure time.
If there is a 311 submission in South Philly, there is a decent chance it’s coming from Joe Eastman. The retired Navy veteran is a 311 neighborhood liaison, part of a city program that trains certain residents how to report issues more effectively. Eastman, 75, goes on walks and reports what he sees in the neighborhood, and often finds himself alerting 311 to the same spots, like a stop sign near Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.
“I’m sure if I go back in two weeks it’ll have graffiti again,” he said.
Eastman is pleased with 311 and CLIP’s responsiveness, and said he has no problem with the anti-graffiti focus on visitors if CLIP continues at its current pace.
“I get what they’re doing. And as long as they are being as responsive as they have been, I think we can all get along with this,” he said.
