Public art is the medium which democratizes the process of manufacturing an urban landscape. Buildings are the city’s trees, and the mural is raw exposure to the ecology of the urban population. Nowhere else is the process of community design more inclusive. The murals in study were created by youth in two Boston low-income communities of color. By allowing this type of participation in the city, these youth can create places for themselves in a society that often tells them there is no place for them. Public art allows communities to reflect who they are. They exist as artifacts of cultural identity. Sometimes public art is forgotten, or even painted over. This is why public art so often lends itself to community participation. It is a medium that allows for changes in the community identity. We tend to enjoy murals and other forms of public art because they add character and evidence of who lives in the community. The author argues that public art is a form of community design participation that is implementable in all communities. Further, those communities that enact legislation (design standards) that prohibit this kind of public art aim to prohibit active participation in the community.