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A magazine of art in public space

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Actopolis

Art in public space, cities and the people who use them

The shelf

Further reading

Everything our notes and walks recommend, in one place: books on street art and cities, the kit for sketching and for painting a wall, guidebooks, and tours and rooms in the cities we walk.

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Street art and graffiti

The surveys and histories we reach for when a wall raises a question: who painted it, what the letters say, where the style came from.

  • The World Atlas of Street Art and GraffitiRafael SchacterA continent-by-continent survey of the artists and walls that shaped the scene, edited by a curator who knows the field from the inside.$32.00 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti)
  • Subway ArtMartha Cooper and Henry ChalfantThe photographs of painted New York subway cars that sent graffiti around the world; still the reference everyone quotes.$19.92 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Subway Art)
  • Graffiti Alphabets: Street Fonts from Around the WorldClaudia WaldeLettering styles from writers in many countries, useful for anyone who wants to read a wall rather than just look at it.$22.80 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Graffiti Alphabets: Street Fonts from Around the World)
  • BanksyStefano Antonelli and Gianluca MarzianiA large-format hardback on the best-known anonymous artist, with the works in their street settings.$22.19 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Banksy)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Read with: Books on street art and graffiti worth owning, and what each is for · Berlin street art walk: East Side Gallery to the Kreuzberg murals

Cities and public space

Books on why some streets and squares fill with people and others stay empty, from Jane Jacobs to the planners who took her at her word.

  • The Death and Life of Great American CitiesJane JacobsThe 1961 argument for busy pavements, short blocks and mixed streets that still frames how people talk about public space.$9.41 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (The Death and Life of Great American Cities)
  • Cities for PeopleJan GehlA Danish architect on designing streets and squares around how people actually walk, stop and sit.$44.57 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Cities for People)
  • Walkable CityJeff SpeckA planner's case for streets people actually want to walk, argued with parking, trees, traffic and shopfronts rather than slogans.$11.18 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Walkable City)
  • Happy CityCharles MontgomeryWhy some streets make people calmer and friendlier than others, with research from psychology and visits to cities that changed course.$11.51 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Happy City)
  • A Pattern LanguageChristopher Alexander and others253 numbered patterns, from whole regions down to a window seat, for places people like to be in. Best read one pattern at a time.$39.89 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (A Pattern Language)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Read with: Leftover spaces and tactical urbanism: what small street fixes teach

Looking at art, gathering people

Two short books for the other half of public art: how we look at what is put in front of us, and what makes people turn up and stay.

  • Ways of SeeingJohn BergerA short book from the 1972 BBC series on how paintings, photographs and advertising shape the way we look. Still the quickest way into looking hard at art.$21.00 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Ways of Seeing)
  • The Art of GatheringPriya ParkerWhy some gatherings work and others fall flat, and how to give one a clear purpose. Useful to anyone organising something in a square or a park.$10.45 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (The Art of Gathering)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Read with: Participatory art explained: telling real involvement from decoration · Planning a festival in public space: permits, crowds and neighbours · What Temporary Art Does to a City Square, and How to Judge It

Art history, from the start

For readers who want the background before a museum trip: one long story, one big reference and one quick, funny route through modern art.

  • The Story of ArtE. H. GombrichThe classic one-volume history of art, from cave paintings to the twentieth century, written in plain language for readers who never studied it.$24.49 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (The Story of Art)
  • Art: The Definitive Visual GuideAndrew Graham-Dixon and DKA large illustrated reference that moves period by period through painting and sculpture, with short entries on artists and key works. Good for looking things up after a museum.$22.85 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Art: The Definitive Visual Guide)
  • What Are You Looking At?Will GompertzA lively history of modern art since the Impressionists by a former BBC arts editor, good on why a urinal or a pile of bricks ended up in a gallery.$20.98 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (What Are You Looking At?)
  • Ways of SeeingJohn BergerA short book from the 1972 BBC series on how paintings, photographs and advertising shape the way we look. Still the quickest way into looking hard at art.$21.00 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Ways of Seeing)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Urban sketching

How-to books for drawing on location, and the small kit that fits in a coat pocket.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Read with: Urban sketching supplies: a kit that fits in a coat pocket

Painting a mural

Primer, practice paint and the tools that get a design onto a big wall straight. Work out quantities first with the calculators.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Read with: Mural paint calculator: how much paint a wall mural needs · Mural grid calculator: scale your drawing up to the wall · Mural price calculator: build a quote from your own costs · Walls, Permits and Lifts: How a Large Mural Gets Made

Guidebooks

The guidebooks we pack for the cities on our walks. They cover the museums and the transport; our walks cover the walls.

  • Lonely Planet BerlinLonely PlanetA full city guide with neighbourhood maps, useful for pairing a street art walk with museums and food.$21.14 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Lonely Planet Berlin)
  • Rick Steves GreeceRick StevesAthens and mainland Greece in one volume, with a walk through the old centre of Athens.$17.69 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Greece)
  • Rick Steves PortugalRick StevesCovers Lisbon in depth plus Porto and the rest of the country, with self-guided walks.$13.79 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Portugal)
  • Rick Steves Best of ScotlandRick StevesGlasgow and Edinburgh with the Highlands, for a trip that adds the mural trail to a wider tour.$14.76 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Best of Scotland)
  • Rick Steves Pocket ViennaRick StevesA slim guide to central Vienna that fits a jacket pocket on a walking day.$14.99 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Pocket Vienna)
  • Rick Steves Pocket LondonRick StevesA compact London guide; handy beside an East End street art walk.$13.46 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Pocket London)
  • Rick Steves Central EuropeRick StevesPrague, Budapest, Ljubljana and more in one volume, for a rail trip through several of the cities we write about.$19.69 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Central Europe)
  • Rick Steves Pocket PragueRick StevesA short guide to central Prague, including the Old Town and Malá Strana, the district where the Lennon Wall stands.$13.65 Amazon's price on October 18th, 2026, 21:15 UTCFind it on Amazon (Rick Steves Pocket Prague)

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.

Tours and stays by city

Sightseeing buses through City Sightseeing, hotels through Trip.com and luggage storage through Radical Storage, for the cities in our walks and guides. A bus ticket is an easy way to get between neighbourhoods too far apart to walk in one go, and leaving your bags somewhere lets you walk on the day you arrive or leave.