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You probably know the telltale signs of a ‘cool’ part of town: street art, fun cafes, live music, cute shops, and a bustling vibe. Tourists and locals alike love vibrant, artistic, and culturally rich cities. And, statistics show that it pays to be one.
According to a 2017 report, Americans for the Arts found that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $166.3 billion in economic activity and that attendees of arts events spent almost $32 per person beyond admission on things like meals, parking, and lodging.
But how can local governments support the development of those places if they don’t organically exist? Can these attractive areas be created with authenticity?
Take a place like Wynwood in downtown Miami-Dade, Florida. About a century ago, what eventually became the area between Interstate 95, the railway lines, and 20th Street was a bustling garment district. However, by the mid-1970s, it succumbed to economic shifts that caused most of the businesses to vacate their warehouses.
Image Source: Jarrod England/Hummingbird Ideas
With rents low, due in part to high unemployment and nearby crime in the late 1990s, artists and collectors started moving in. Those artists started creating murals on the sides of their buildings — and that started to attract attention.
Today, Wynwood is one of the American Planning Association’s “Great Places in America.” There are more than 70 galleries, museums, and art collections in the area, not to mention plenty of places to grab lunch or a drink. And you’ll need the refreshments as you enjoy Wynwood Walls, a recent addition encouraging even more pedestrian traffic throughout the neighborhood.
While the private investment made an initial difference in the transformation of Wynwood, it also took the creativity of government planners and elected officials. Miami isn’t the only city to update its codes and create zoning incentives, beautification initiatives, and marketing plans to support redevelopment centered around arts and culture.
Austin, Texas, and smaller communities like Manitou Springs, Colorado, and Pensacola, Florida, showcase their creative communities and offer visitors a unique experience. When officials bring arts, music, and culture to the forefront, they often uncover new economic opportunities that make their towns much more vibrant.
Image Source: Natalie Johnson/City of Manitou Springs, Colorado
“I could see the power of art to bring the community together and support economic development,” said Natalie Johnson, a member of the Manitou Springs city council and the executive director of the Manitou Arts Center. “It’s not an accident … and you can’t do it alone.”
Johnson, whose city of around 5,000 residents sees hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, said city officials must think beyond organizing a weekend art fair to successfully incubate and develop arts and cultural opportunities.
She recommends city leaders cultivate the artistic community from its roots. That’s what Manitou Springs started to do back in the 1970s when officials recognized the need to do something to attract people to their quaint, yet struggling, downtown. They looked for their strength — a strategy that cities can implement today.
Next, they looked for funding. They applied — unsuccessfully at first — and eventually became a certified creative district with the state of Colorado. That opened them to new grant opportunities through the state.
Grassroots organizers then joined forces with the town council and the voters, who passed a sales tax to fund arts, cultural, and heritage projects. Since mid-2020, 0.03 percent of all purchases support local arts, culture, and heritage-focused nonprofits and programs. The initiative is expected to bring in around $500,000 every year, two-thirds earmarked for improvements to larger facilities and a third for small grants for individual projects.
“We were able to have a beautiful, creative, interesting campaign because our artists really stepped up,” she added. “If a community wants to support the arts, they have to figure out a dedicated funding stream that isn’t impacted by emergency situations.”
This can also be seen in Memphis, Tennessee, where public art exhibits have been funded using tax-increment financing funds, which are made available through the creation of community redevelopment areas. Other cities, like Houston,
Texas and San Diego, California, make art funding part of their hotel/motel taxes.
Image Source: Jarrod England/Hummingbird Ideas
Manitou Springs has its share of arts festivals, but then, so do hundreds of cities all over the United States. What sets it apart is an arts and cultural infrastructure that supports working artists and a public embrace of new — and sometimes quirky — ideas.
The Manitou Arts Center, run by a nonprofit from the vision of a city planner, is a workshop space that offers courses and
equipment for an expansive array of visual artists. Johnson said 1,500 members use the space and share equipment for everything from blacksmithing and dye labs to jewelry and paper making. Working together makes the sum bigger than the individual parts, she explained.
Collaboration has been the key to the creative process for city officials and planners in Pensacola, Florida as well. They realized they needed solutions for the shoulder seasons and during rainy days to keep attracting tourists who usually came for the beautiful beaches.
David Bear, one of the founders of Pensacola’s Art Cultural Entertainment, or ACE, said it helped to have a diverse, organized group to advocate for bigger pots of funding. The nonprofit is funded by grants from Escambia County as part of a unified budget with Pensacola Sports and Visit Pensacola, as well as corporate, foundation, and personal donations. ACE then distributes grant dollars for arts, culture, and entertainment-focused nonprofits in Pensacola.
Their Foo Foo Festival, which also raises money for various tourism projects, is a 12-day collaborative effort featuring performances from artists and arts organizations throughout downtown Pensacola. Bear explained the Foo Foo Festival evolved to include a wide variety of events from the Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow to the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival to the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival, as well as opera and symphony performances. By working together, all the different groups can maximize marketing dollars for a bigger campaign.
Of course, it’s not only the visual arts that add that certain je ne sais quoi to an area. Music is also a compelling cultural and economic driver. At the turn of the century, Rainey Street in Austin, Texas was primarily a residential area characterized by quaint bungalows. However, in the early 2010s, the neighborhood began to undergo significant transformation with the conversion of many of these historic homes into trendy bars, restaurants, and live music venues. The unique atmosphere, with its blend of historic architecture and modern entertainment options, quickly caught the attention of locals and visitors alike.
The rise in popularity of Rainey Street in Austin, Texas, has been notably fueled by the creation of a central business district. Austin’s central business district (CBD) was more of an evolution than the product of a specific effort. Throughout the 20th century, urbanization and economic growth led to the development of commercial and financial institutions in the downtown area, gradually solidifying its status as the city’s central business hub.
Image Source: Ashley Whittaker
Urban renewal projects in the mid-20th century, such as the construction of Interstate 35 and the development of the Warehouse District, further shaped the CBD’s landscape. In more recent years, initiatives focused on urban revitalization, mixed-use development, and infrastructure improvements have continued to enhance the downtown area’s appeal for businesses, residents, and visitors.
As for Rainey Street, the construction of Interstate 35 isolated the area from Downtown Austin. However, this didn’t deter developers who saw Rainey Street’s potential (its downtown proximity remained a selling point), nor did it dampen the spirit of residents who pushed for its historic preservation.
While a National Register of Historic Places designation was placed on the area in 1985, the Rainey Street we see today didn’t take shape until 2004 when the city started implementing zoning laws allowing for businesses to be opened in the area. Also critical to Rainey Street’s look, feel, and impact was a decision by one of the neighborhood’s pioneering bar owners, Bridget Dunlap to convert homes into local water holes, as opposed to building new structures. The decision further helped the area maintain its look and feel and led other entrepreneurs to follow suit.
Over the last twenty years, Rainey Street has continued to grow in prominence, solidifying its reputation as a must-visit destination in Austin’s dynamic cultural landscape. With roots deeply embedded in Austin’s rich musical heritage, the street boasts an array of live music venues that draw music enthusiasts from across the country. The seamless integration of live music into the vibrant atmosphere of the street adds an extra layer of excitement and authenticity, captivating visitors and immersing them in one of the city’s most unique experiences. Overall, the synergy between a business district and live music venues creates a dynamic ecosystem that fosters creativity, cultural exchange, and economic growth, furthering Austin’s reputation as a renowned music destination.
From creative partnerships with nonprofits to the creation of specialized districts, there are a myriad of tools available for cities looking to cultivate local arts and music culture. The magic is in the investment in creativity, in whatever form it takes.
Said Bear, “Cultural tourists spend more per visit and stay longer than other tourists we’re attracting.”
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