Creative Placemaking
Ann Markusen Markusen Economic Research Services Anne Gadwa Metris Arts Consulting
Creative Placemaking is a landmark 2010 white paper by Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa that helped define and popularize the idea of using arts and culture as active tools in shaping the social, physical, and economic life of communities. Drawing on research and case studies from across the United States, the report looks at how artists, cultural organizations, governments, businesses, and residents can work across sectors to animate public spaces, reuse underutilized places, strengthen local economies, and build community identity. It also confronts the challenges inherent in the work—from financing and sustaining partnerships to measuring impact and avoiding displacement—and helped establish creative placemaking as a significant framework in American arts, planning, and community development policy.