Informality from above in the governance of graffiti and street art in Sydney

This article analyses the ways in which urban authorities and elites embrace informality when formal laws and regulations get in the way of making the city they want. In the case of Sydney, we show that the governance of graffiti and street art is not exclusively a matter of enacting and enforcing formal anti-graffiti laws and regulations. Rather, graffiti governance takes the form of a “rule by aesthetics” in which authorities and elites draw on both informal and formal repertoires of action to pursue their values and goals – the enhancement of neighborhood character and enlivenment of public space, through a selective embrace of some forms of street art alongside the eradication of others. Our account of “informality from above” adds to understanding of the enactment and contestation of power in graffiti governance, and draws attention to the role of aesthetic orders in the contested governance of urban landscapes more generally.