Painting Time is a participatory action seeking to recover derelict areas through painting public street walls. These walls are painted with colors and messages that appeal to problems of garbage and encourage the cultural change needed amongst residents to keep the neighborhood clean and connected.

During the tactic, the neighbors supervised the participation of the Ramona Parra Brigade, an organization muralists that led the painting of one of the four recovered walls. The Ramona Parra Brigade painted a mural with designs that alluded to neighborhood cleanliness. The three remaining walls and stairs were painted with bright colors and messages. One message emphasizing the care and cleanliness of the space was particularly striking. Proposed by the neighbors themselves, it read: “Your life is your neighborhood. Keep it clean, care for it.” In addition to the painting, a recycling point was installed with the support of Triciclos, as a means of waste management.

During the day we collected the residents’ opinions and ideas through surveys, messages written on postcards, and the Tree of Ideas. In this case, participants responded enthusiastically to a series of instruments applied by Ciudad Emergente to take the pulse of the participatory action.

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