Why there are graffiti in Tidy Street

Tidy Street residents are recording their electricity consumption in the street

Residents recording their electricity consumption

By Jon Bird

During March and April 2011, participating households in Tidy Street were recording their electricity consumption as part of an electricity usage project run by the Open University.

The daily average usage of the participants is being marked on a large street display that initially shows how Tidy Street compares to the average Brighton household's electricity usage. The street display is temporary as it is created by spraying chalk onto the road and will be removed at the end of the project.

Comparison with other regions

The residents are working with a local graffiti artist and the display will develop over the duration of the project: each day the participants' electricity usage over the previous 24 hours will be marked; and each week participants can choose to add another comparison line that will show how their electricity consumption compares to another region in the UK or even a different country.

Will the community's consumption change?

The aim is to produce an engaging artwork that will hopefully stimulate the street and passersby to reflect on their electricity use: will publicly displaying the street's average electricity usage and showing how it compares to households in different places in the UK and other countries change the community's electricity consumption during the project?

More information

If you’d like to find out more about the project, contact j.bird@open.ac.uk .

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 209, March/April 2011]