COMMUNITY CHARAcTER

Kimberley Hodgson

How arts and cultural strategies create, reinforce, and enhance sense of place

Arts and culture strategies help to reveal and enhance the underlying identitythe unique meaning, value, and character of the physical and social form of a community. This identity is reected through the communitys character or sense of place. A communitys sense of place is not a static concept; rather, it evolves and develops over time, reecting the spectrum of social values within and around the community. In this way, the community character of a city, county, town, or neighborhood can be seen as a story or narrative of a place. Planners and community members can come together to reveal and burnish this narrative through:
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ARTS AND CULTURE BRIEFING PAPERS 03

KEYPOINT #1: Understanding Community Context KEYPOINT #2: Reinforcing Sense of Place: Celebrating Community Character KEYPOINT #3: Local Implementation Framework KEYPOINT #4: Arts and Cultural Programming

articulation of the historic, cultural, economic, and cultural context of the community; commitment to the reinforcement and enhancement of the communitys identity; and implementation of policies, regulations, and incentives that support and enhance this evolving identity.

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Awareness of community identity and character is strengthened by the consideration of all community interests in decision-making processes; the integration of arts and cultural resources with civic visioning programs; and the balancing of the inherent conicting nature of past, present, and future social values.

Prepared by the American Planning Association, as part of a collaborative project with the RMC Research Corporation and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation

KEYPOINTS
This brief explores how arts and culture strategies can be used to understand community context, celebrate community character, and ultimately create, reinforce, or enhance sense of place. Artistic and cultural inventories allow a community to begin to understand the historic, cultural, economic, and social context of a communityan essential foundation for developing and building sense of place. A creative community vision can continuously evolve and embrace new ideas while balancing the inherent conicting nature of past, present, and future community values and culture. Such a vision must reinforce and embrace the changing climate, culture, and character of a place. Preserving and enhancing the local identity, uniqueness, and arts and culture assets of a community require that local decision making, planning processes, policies, and regulations reect and support community character. Arts and cultural programming plays an important role in providing education about the historical and cultural context of a community and in providing opportunities for participation in community life through festivals, events and performances, interactive classes and workshops, and a variety of other activities. Each key point is explored in greater depth on the following pages.

Helping a community begin to understand its historic, cultural, economic, Understanding and social context is an essential foundation for Community developing and building Context sense of place. This context includes a variety of community characteristics: population, demographic, and linguistic characteristics; physical and natural resources; cultural history; climate; customs; landscape features; design and architectural elements; local educational institutions; and temporary artistic and cultural exhibits, events, and spaces. A comprehensive reading or inventory of place can help a community begin to develop a voice for its narrative.

KEYPOINT #1:

The urban planning process plays an important role in assisting residents as they inventory and explore their community context. In this way, the planning process provides a grounding mechanism to ensure that the wealth of information latent in the community is revealed, enhanced, and maintained over time. This allows a narrative about the authentic elements of a communitys talent to emerge and thrive. Artistic and cultural inventories allow a community to assess its historic, cultural, economic, and social context. These inventories include the identication, assessment, and mapping of a communitys artistic and cultural resources. Conducting such an inventory allows planners to play a role in revealing the creative assets of a community. This role is strengthened by collaboration with other stakeholders, such as artists or representatives from cultural institutions. Arts, cultural, and educational institutions are particularly skilled at capturing these special qualities and helping citizens understand their community through new eyes. An inventory can often be the rst step in community character discoveryor a guided visioning exercise that engages residents from all segments of a communitys population in an interactive, creative process of developing a vision for the future of the community.

According to the Culture, Creativity, and Communities Program at the Urban Institute, however, traditional cultural inventories conducted by local governments often overlook nontraditional cultural resources, venues, and activities. Cultural inventories typically focus on cataloging the variety of arts and cultural organizations within a community, analyzing aspects of the natural environment (such as natural and archaeological resources), and describing traditional arts and cultural sites such as theaters, galleries, and other performance or exhibition venues. By expanding the scope of a traditional cultural inventory, planners can better explore the wealth of artistic, cultural, and creative opportunities at the municipal and neighborhood levels. A comprehensive artistic and cultural inventory combines quantitative and qualitative methods and includes a variety of stakeholderssuch as artists, residents, and community cultural workersin community-based participatory research into the artistic, cultural, and creative characteristics of a community or neighborhood. Such a comprehensive inventory may include the following:
u population u local

u public

spaces infrastructure

u transportation u temporary u patterns, u natural u native u street, u art

markets and fairs

colors, and materials of buildings

resources

plants business, and community signage

forms places

u special u local

educational institutions (colleges, universi ties,

etc.)
u arts

institutions (museums, theaters, historic homes,

etc.)
u galleries

and demographic information

social and architectural history spoken

u languages u food

culture customs landscape

u unique u current u scale

of existing buildings (residences, as well as commercial, governmental, and institutional buildings)

As one example, the Boston Indicators Projecta partnership among the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Councilexplores, measures, and assesses the values, resources, and assets of the city and its residents within the context of civic vitality, cultural life and the arts, the economy, education, the environment, health, housing, public safety, technology, and transportation. The project relies on the interaction and participation of a broad range of stakeholders (from schoolchildren and engaged residents to academic and communitybased experts to public ocials and policy makers) to achieve its goals and objectives.

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In an eort to better understand how Bostons growing ethnically and culturally diverse populationwhich comprises more than 50 nationalities and ethnicities and more than 100 languages and dialectsis expressing its presence in the city and the region, the project and the Mayors Oce of New Bostonians developed the Greater Boston Cultural Resources Survey. This survey was designed to assess movement along a continuum of cultural expressions, as groups develop resources to transact their own businesses, move toward reecting themselves to the larger community, and grow in ways that begin to reshape the cultural landscape of the city.1 The survey invites residents to share insider information about the citys cultural and ethnic heritage, commercial establishments, traditions, resources, and amenities. It asks respondents to share their knowledge about a variety of community activities, places, spaces, events, and resources, such as:
u religious u informal

While an inventory of place provides the initial context for buildReinforcing Sense ing sense of place and of Place: Celebrating establishing community CommunityCharacter identity, the combination of context and the reinforcement of the current climate and culture of a place create community character or identity. Reinforcing sense of place therefore requires rst a comprehensive understanding of a communitys historic, cultural, economic, and social context, and second a vision for the future that continuously evolves and embraces new ideas while balancing the inherent conicting nature of past, present, and future community values and culture.

KEYPOINT #2:

organizations or places of worship

gathering spaces (beauty salons, cafs, parks, corners) or recreational clubs or teams specic to an ethnic or cultural community or cultural clubs

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u social

u restaurants,

grocery stores, or specialty stores that serve or sell products specic to an ethnic or cultural community and cultural venues or public art that celebrate a specic ethnic or cultural heritage organizations that serve a specic ethnic or cultural community or parades that express or celebrate the heritage or the presence of an ethnic or cultural community where people can purchase books or music relating to an ethnic or cultural community institutions or parks that celebrate the cultural heritage of an ethnic or cultural community websites, or tours that speak to or about an ethnic or cultural community2

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u nonprot

Community character is something a community has inherently, not something that can be applied like makeup. It is conveyed by not only grand buildings and public spaces but a whole range of urban elements: residences of all sizes and scale; commercial, government, and institutional buildings; street cross-sections; street furniture and graphics; public places, large and small; ceremonial buildings; informal activities such as street markets and fairs; and the food, language, and personalities that contribute to a communitys narrative. Only through the understanding and reinforcement of its character can a community ourish civically and economically. Planners are uniquely qualied to guide citizens in this pro cess of discovery and celebration of community character.

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u books,

Ybor Citythe Latin Quarter of Tampa, Floridais known as a center of the cigar industry but also as a vibrant, multicultural melting pot. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Ybor City was home to more than 230 cigar factories, as well as many Spanish, Cuban, African, Italian, German, and Jewish immigrants. During the 1950s and 1960s, federal urban-renewal eorts aimed at slum clearance and interstate freeway construction disgured Ybor City. The preservation of architectural and streetscape features that indicate the neighborhoods multiethnic heritagesecond-oor balconies, ornate cornice and tile designs, ve-globe street lamps, wide sidewalks of hex-shaped pavers, decorative shop windows, wrought-iron benches, and ornate curlicue light xturesis due in large part to the work of the Barrio Latino Commission, Tampas rst architectural review commission, created in 1959. The 1983 Ybor City Historic District Revitalization Plan resulted in more than $12 million in private investment to revitalize the neighborhood. The City of Tampa relaxed the districts zoning laws to permit nighttime uses, such as bars and clubs, to attract tourists and visitors. While these eorts worked as stimulants for economic development, Ybor City quickly became a popular entertainment district, attracting a young, rowdy crowd at night but very few people during the day. Through community involvementas well as the collaboration of a variety of institutions, including the local development corporation, the city planning ofce, and the historic districtYbor City is once again experiencing a wave of revitalization eorts. With the introduction of the Tampa Electric Company streetcar line, the revitalization of historic buildings, new inll housing to the north and south of the historic core, and a variety of new businesses and restaurants, Ybor City continues to balance its multiethnic heritage with the goals and needs of current residents. The 2004 Ybor City Vision Plan continues to guide the areas redevelopment eorts. In 2008, Seventh Avenue in the heart of Ybor City was selected as one of American Planning Associations Great Streets in America on account of its history, character, and evidence of strong community involvement.3

Artistic and cultural inventories, community visioning processes, arts and culLocal ture programming, master Implementation plans, and public nancial Framework investment in urban design and placemaking are important elements of an overall strategy that planners can use to explore community context, embrace and nurture community diversity and uniqueness, and build upon and celebrate community character.

KEYPOINT #3:

Preserving and enhancing the local identity, uniqueness, and arts and culture assets of a community require that local decision making, planning processes, policies, and regulations reect and support this community character. Local government programs, policies, and regulations that incorporate the underlying philosophy or identity of a community can provide a framework for decision making, encourage development that is place based, and reinforce the cultural goals and vision of a community. This framework supports the work of civic leaders and community advocates and can help bring new allies, talent, and ideas into the planning process. Public Art Master Plans Public artsuch as memorials, historical monuments, installations, murals, sculptures, mosaics, decorative features, and functional elementsis an important element in placemaking. Unlike art in private spaces, public art is ideally site-specic and attuned to its social, economic, and environmental context. Public art can contribute to urban design and the revitalization of civic infrastructure; enhance and personalize public space; comment on environmental and social conditions; and activate civic dialogue. The development and adoption of a public art master plan provides an opportunity to establish a shared vision for a communitys public realm and to coordinate the activities of multiple stakeholdersplanners, artists, arts and culturerelated nonprot organizations, and other stakeholdersin shaping that realm. More and more communities are developing and adopting public art master plans for the purpose of demonstrating a longterm commitment to the central importance of public art in the planning, design, and creation of public space.

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In 1988, the City of Phoenix adopted the rst citywide public art plan in the country. Public Art Plan for Phoenix: Ideas and Visions gave the city a clear vision and path for public art to become an eective tool of urban design. Since the adoption of this innovative plan and its revision in 2006, public art has played an important role in shaping the city. The original plan identied working zones and opportunities to strengthen the design of the city through more than 70 public art projects related to the design and construction of buildings, outdoor urban spaces and networks, and infrastructure. The plan update built upon the original vision by addressing the need to strengthen creative partnerships with the public and private sector; improve the sustainability of projects and initiatives; cluster projects to maximize public benet; and improve the care and maintenance of the citys public art collection. In another eort to recognize and commemorate a places history and legacy, the Durham, North Carolina, Oce of Economic and Workforce Development and the Parrish Street Advocacy Group partnered to develop the 2008 Plan for Public Art on Parrish Street. The plan builds upon the Durham Cultural Master Plan, the Downtown Master Plan, and additional public and private planning projects. Through public art, it addresses the need to catalyze economic development activity while celebrating the story of African American entrepreneurship, empowerment, and economic innovation on Parrish Street, which in the early 20th century was known locally as Black Wall Street. The plan establishes a bold direction in which many types of art form the epicenter of downtown while their execution honors successful public art processes, urban land use planning structures, and landscape design strategies for artistic consideration.4

Another example comes from Arlington County, Virginia, which is committed to encouraging excellence in the design of public buildings, parks, streets and infrastructure. The county recognizes that public art, along with architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, graphic design, and historic preservation, is one of several tools the County can use to create strong, meaningful connections between people and places. Since 2000, the Arlington County Board has supported public art as a tool for promoting design excellence and a high-quality public realm. In September 2000 and December 2004, the county board adopted a public art policy and public art master plan, respectively. The public art policy established the boards commitment to public art, while the plan outlined a strategy for commissioning art projects and provided details on priorities, locations, and themes for those projects. The plan also established goals to integrate art with architectural, landscape, and infrastructure design of capital projects; to coordinate the eorts of various county departments, commissions, and residents to identify and implement public art projects; and to focus sta time and nancial resources on projects with the strongest placemaking impact.5 Public Investment in Urban Infrastructure The design of urban infrastructure, such as architecture, streetscapes, transportation facilities, and so on, presents an opportunity to interpret the many constituent elements of a sense of place: the natural environment, history, culture, language, and other aspects of local environmental, economic, and social conditions. Through the development of creative streetscape design, transit facilities, street signage, and other infrastructure, artists can inform, educate, and comment on these local conditions. For example, through investment in the integration of public art in water and sewer infrastructure, the City of Calgary, Alberta, provides essential services to residents while also enhancing sense of place. The city takes pride in the intact ecosystem of the Bow River, which ows through the city and provides residents with a sustainable source of drinking water, recreational opportunities, and world-class trout shing. As a result, the citys Council and Department

of Utilities and Environmental Protection (UEP) created a Public Art Plan for the Expressive Potential of Utility Infrastructure to engage artists in utilizing public art to raise awareness of water as a critical and nite resource, foster environmental stewardship, and continuously engage residents in education about UEP services, infrastructure, and the surrounding watershed. The plan outlines how the city can integrate public art into its utilities and environmental systems to map the relationship between the man-made and natural watershed of the Bow River. The plan creates a conceptual framework and visual tone for how UEP wants citizens to recognize and respond to its infrastructure. This plan reveals the untapped potential of infrastructure as a unique, artistic, and cultural asset to the community and lays the foundation for realizing infrastructures expressive potential.6 From Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and New York City to Louisville, Kentucky; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Mount Clemens, Michigan, cities and towns across the country are combining the utility with aesthetics by allowing local artists to design and sculpt innovative and creative bicycle racks. These racks not only provide bicycle parking but also draw attention to bicycle parking as an important element of street furniture. Combined with other aesthetically pleasing street furniture, artistic bicycle racks create an interesting environment for residents and tourists and enhance the character of a place. Philadelphias Avenue of the Arts is a classic case study of how public and private investment in arts and cultural programming and development can assist in overcoming a variety of economic, social, and physical challenges. More than $100 million in public funds and $1 billion in private funds transformed South Broad Street from a declining street into a vibrant corridor that embraces its heritage and provides a home for 23 arts organizations, three major art institutions, three large hotels, more than 20 high-end retailers, more than 30 restaurants, and 1,450 residential units either converted from vacant oce buildings or newly constructed.

Eorts to revitalize South Broad Street began in 1978 with the exhibit Broad Street Comes Alive, sponsored by the Philadelphia Art Alliance, which showcased a vision for transforming the street. However, implementation did not begin until the early 1990s. By 1993, the arts organizations, the business community, and the city reached a consensus that Broad Street would require signicant public investment for revitalization. With the support of Mayor Ed Rendell, redevelopment eorts nally started. Improvements included the installment of vintage lampposts, sidewalk pavers, planters, bus shelters, and decorative subway entrances. Wide sidewalks accommodated outdoor seating, and mixed use developments provide ample space for street-level retail and restaurants along with a mixture of oce and residential space on upper oors. The board and sta of the Avenue of the Arts, Inc. maintain the revitalization eorts and plan a variety of events and programssuch as festivals, parades, recreational activities, temporary and permanent art exhibits, and performancesin collaboration with the arts organizations, retailers, specialty shops, and community and educational institutions along the avenue.7 According to an economic impact study conducted in September 2007 by Econsult, in 2006 the avenue generated an estimated $424 million, with an estimated $150 million in total earnings, supporting approximately 6,000 jobs.

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Arts and cultural programming provides education about the historical and Arts and cultural context of a comCultural munity and opportuniProgramming ties for participation in community life through festivals, events and performances, interactive classes and workshops, and a variety of other activities. Programming initiates conversation about arts and culture and establishes a structure of happenings and plans that ensure that these activities will continue to ourish. This deliberate continuity will help strengthen creative ideas, inspire citizens, and oer hope that opportunities exist and matter to the community. This increases the likelihood of not only the implementation of arts programs but also their integration with other community plans.

KEYPOINT #4:

tive ideas and widen arts and cultural participation, particularly among diverse and underserved communities. For example, in 2008, a smART ventures grant provided funding to lmmakers Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin to provide free screenings of their documentary Good Food, which explores the meaning of good food and its value to healthy communities.9 Another example is City Arts, a nonprot arts organization based in Washington, D.C., which engages residents in the development of artworks that reect neighborhood history and culture, provides paid apprenticeships to talented youth artists, and oers arts education to a range of age groups. At the beginning of an artworks project, student apprentices connect with neighborhood leaders, civic groups, and residents to generate ideas for images to include in the artwork. This input makes it more likely that the artwork will pay tribute to the neighborhoods history, present, and future.10 For example, a Duke Ellington mural, installed in 1997 and expanded in 2004, contributed to the transformation of the U Street NW corridor into a lively arts and entertainment district. According to City Arts, the mural contributes to the visual integrity of the streetscape and instills a sense of pride in the residents of the neighborhood.11 This brieng paper was written by Je Soule, FAICP (APAs director of outreach and international programs), Kimberley Hodgson, AICP (manager of APAs Planning & Community Health Research Center), and Kelly Ann Beavers (PhD candidate, Virginia Tech, and APA arts and culture intern).

Seattles Oce of Arts and Cultural Aairs has established two programs that support community character through nancial assistance and programming: the Neighborhood and Community Arts (NCA) Program and a small awards initiative (smART ventures) that invests in community-based arts and culture programs. NCA provides support to neighborhood groups that produce recurring festivals and events that promote arts and cultural participation, build community and enhance the visibility of neighborhoods through arts and culture.8 By contrast, smART ventures provides small, one-time nancial assistance to spark innova-

Endnotes
1. See www.tbf.org/indicators2004/culturallife. 2. See www.tbf.org/SelectSurvey/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=3M09p4KLm753G 3. See www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2008/7thavenue.htm; and www .tampagov.net/dept_ybor_city_development_corporation/information_ resources/2005_vision.asp. 4. See www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/parrish/p_advocacy.cfm. 5. See www.arlingtonva.us/departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/culture/ ParksRecreationScriptsCulturePublicArtPlan.aspx. 6. See www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/recreation/public_art/uep_public_art_plan .pdf. 7. See www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2008/southbroadstreet.htm and www .avenueofthearts.org. 8. See www.seattle.gov/arts/funding/neighborhood_community.asp. 9. See www.seattle.gov/arts/funding/smart_ventures_featured.asp. 10. See cityartsdc.org/documents/CityArtsbrochure.pdf. 11. See www.cityartsdc.org/about.

Arts and Culture Brieng Papers

This is one in a series of briefing papers on how planners can work with partners in the arts and culture sector and use creative strategies to achieve economic, social, environmental, and community goals. Please visit our website at www.planning.org/research/arts to learn more about this series.
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