Urban space ecology as modern direction of urban environment research

The relevance of this article is to understand the problem of studying the visual images of graffiti in the socio-cultural space of the city. The article substantiates the relevance of the appeal to the ecology of urban space as one of the modern directions of urban environment research. Nowadays graffiti has become an integral part of modern culture and way of life, a special kind of art, which can be both an art object and an act of vandalism, violating the ecology of the city space. The aim of the study is to analyze the features in the use of different styles of graffiti in the urban environment in the aspect of the ecology of urban space. The leading method for the study of this problem is the method of analysis of photographs, which contributes to the effective identification of types of graffiti and their impact on the ecology of urban space. The article analyzes the ecology of urban space and the impact of graffiti on it. The basic styles of graffiti are allocated; the dominating and less used graffiti in social and cultural space of the city are defined. The features of the location of graffiti on the streets of the metropolis are considered. The most commonly used size of graffiti in the city is shown. Graffiti in different areas of the urban environment are analyzed. The novelty and originality of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the eco-psychological problems of space organization associated with the use of graffiti are analyzed (visual images in the urban environment, deforming or decorating the visual space of the city). The importance of graffiti for the city as one of the factors influencing the ecology of urban space is revealed. It is revealed that using graffiti in the urban space contributes to social interaction between man and the ecology of the city. It is shown that the introduction of harmonious colors details on the flat ends of buildings, their implementing into the subject forms and lines, in most cases, makes a positive contribution to the ecological space of the metropolis and helps people to distract from their internal worries. The styles of graffiti, which are most famous and popular in the course of graffiti, affecting the ecology of urban space (Writing, Bombing, Tagging, Scratching, Street art, and 3D graffiti) are considered. It is shown that the most popular in use are three styles: Tagging, Writing and Street Art. The styles of Tagging and Writing negatively affect the ecology of the socio-cultural space of the city, the style of Street Art influences positively and is often perceived as an art object. It is revealed that the least popular styles in the city are Bombing, Scratching and 3D graffiti. It is shown that the styles of bombing and Scratching have a negative impact on the ecology of the socio-cultural space of the city, the style of 3D graffiti has a positive impact and is considered an art object. It is shown that according to the size of drawings graffiti artists prefer works in small and medium sizes. It is revealed that graffiti works in a large format are much fewer. It is determined that on the outskirts of the districts graffiti is found much more than in the center of the metropolis. The data obtained in this work can be used in environmental psychology, visual ecology, labor psychology, social psychology, pedagogy, sociology, as well as for further theoretical development of this issue. © 2020 Faleeva et al.