Urban Archives Database

The Urban Archives project contributes to the body of knowledge on urban communication. Since 2004, University of Washington students have been documenting Seattle's streets and conducting original research using a variety of approaches and perspectives. Using photography, students carry out field research by capturing urban texts such as graffiti, public art, advertising, signage, and architectural design.

Original photographs of urban texts are archived, annotated and shared with the community for further research and analysis. The documentation is ongoing as the project is expanding. We have also began to add data from cities around the world. For more information about this project visit the www.urbanarchives.org website.

The first set of images archived here is a collection of graffiti. You may use the dropdown search box above or click on the image labels below to view those items. As more categories are added we will update the search mechanisms.

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