Creative Placemaking on Vacant Properties
The Center for Community Progress has a new report that looks at how creative endeavors can bring new life to vacant properties. Creative Placemaking on Vacant Properties examines how arts and cultural activities add vitality to communities, and how these techniques can enliven abandoned buildings and empty lots.
The report includes a primer on creative placemaking – What is it? What are the essential elements? What impacts can it accomplish and how does it help revitalize communities? The report discusses specific interventions and impacts for vacant properties and the communities surrounding them. Examples throughout the publication show how cities have teamed with artists and arts or cultural organizations to realize creative visions and turn once-neglected places into hubs of community activity.
Case studies from four cities – Newburgh, NY; Wilkinsburg, PA; Kalamazoo, MI; and Macon, GA – illustrate the power of creative placemaking to transform vacant properties physically into more inviting spaces and to change perceptions about the value of the properties and the communities where they are located.