Urban regeneration and street art: a synergy that works

Urban art as a regeneration tool

Over the past twenty years, cities like Berlin, Bristol, and Naples have shown that murals are not vandalism: they are effective urban policy. They turn abandoned spaces into destinations, attract tourism, and, above all, give back identity to communities at risk of disappearing.

The Botrugno case

Botrugno is a small municipality in lower Salento, and it is the town where OnStage was born in 2016. It is also where the association brought street art into the street, with RestArt:

- on 5 May 2018, the first edition of RestArt - Suburban StreetArt Fest: a mural painted by Gino Palma on the steps of via XX Settembre, a mural contest, a freestyle contest and a hip hop night, under the patronage of the Municipality of Botrugno;
- on 18 June 2022, Restart: back in via XX Settembre, with a challenge between street writers and the unveiling of a new mural;
- on 18 April 2025, the third edition, in a smaller format: live painting and a DJ set in via Paolo VI.

What we saw

We have no statistics on visitors or businesses to show. We saw something simpler and, for us, more important: in 2018 the people of the neighbourhood followed the artist's work day by day.

A process we recommend

1. Listening to the community: public workshops to gather ideas and concerns
2. Selecting the artists: open call with portfolio review
3. Co-design: the artist presents sketches, the community comments
4. Execution: three to five days of work, often with resident participation
5. Documentation: photos, videos, and interviews to preserve the memory of the process

The lesson

There is no regeneration without participation. The murals that last are the ones people wanted, not the ones imposed on them.