Community Engagement via Mural Art to Foster a Sustainable Urban Environment

Abstract

Community is a key element in a sustainable urban environment and possesses a capacity to become a major contributor in the development of it. Therefore, it is essential for communities to be active and engaged. The concept of a community and its engagement via mural art is addressed in this article. The aim of the research is to investigate the impact of mural art on community engagement and the contribution of communities to a sustainable urban environment. The research was based on materials obtained during the implementation of the “Murals for Communities” project. The aim of the project was to address the issues of community engagement in three cities with social disconnection: Waterford (Ireland), Heerlen (the Netherlands), and Kaunas (Lithuania). The engagement of the communities through mural art creation was initiated through community engagement workshops where the communities were encouraged to participate in collaborative actions resulting in the improvement of the urban environment and the strengthening of the communities themselves. In total, 54 community engagement workshops were organized and 18 murals were created in the three partner cities. The entire process of community engagement was a well-coordinated and structured framework of actors and events, where each of them played a significant role. The results of the research revealed that community engagement workshops were used as a successful tool for community bonding and strengthening. Hence, mural art is a successful tool for sustainable community development, and the process of mural creation with its various stages enables community members to be active participants of social interaction and developers of both a sustainable community and a sustainable urban environment.