Giant QR code fights graffiti, 'restores' mural

It seems a mural sponsored by the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, as a deterrent to graffiti, wound up attracting a little instead. But someone came up with an interesting temporary fix for the defacement.

A tipster named Jason informed street-art site Wooster Collective that a giant QR code had been placed over the offending, spray-painted tag.

And when passersby scan the code with their smartphones, they're served up an image of the original, undamaged mural, along with information about its origins.

That's a nice idea. But in describing the fix as "temporary" a few paragraphs back, I was expressing my hope that this approach (or something like it) won't somehow catch on and replace the actual restoration of murals.

Writing on future-trends blog i09, Cyriaque Lamar says he can "see urban beautification taking shape" as augmented reality. My "Blade Runner"/"Brazil" side can see it too, especially with government budgets being as slim as they are these days.

I'm fascinated by the possibilities of augmented reality and virtual worlds. But I'd hate to see them supplant the actual physical environment and notions like civic pride. (Stranger things have no doubt happened.)

Kudos, however, to this QR approach as a stopgap measure (and interesting statement in its own right).