Arts and Planning

Adaptive Use

Adaptive use focuses on the repurposing of existing buildings for new uses. It is often used in sustainable development, historic preservation, and urban revitalization efforts. Benefits of adaptive uses include cost-effective development, economic revitalization, and community preservation.

Adaptive reuse projects often face regulatory hurdles, as existing buildings may not comply with current building codes or accessibility standards. Structural issues, such as deteriorating foundations, and environmental hazards like asbestos or lead paint, can also pose significant challenges.

Common strategies for adaptive uses include historic preservation tax credits, zoning flexibility, and public-private partnerships. Collaborations between government entities, private developers, and community organizations can be instrumental in overcoming financial and regulatory barriers to adaptive reuse.

Examples include converting industrial warehouses into residential lofts, turning old schools into office spaces, turning underutilized strip malls into office spaces.

Artist-in-Residence

An Artist-in-Residence (AiR) program is a residency opportunity provided by institutions, organizations, or communities where artists are invited to live and work within a particular environment, typically outside their usual studio or location. These programs offer artists time, space, and resources to focus on their creative practice, often culminating in a public presentation, exhibition, or community engagement project.

Community-based residencies are centered around community engagement, where artists work closely with local residents through workshops, public talks, or collaborative projects, often addressing social, environmental, or cultural issues through their art.

Artists can bring attention to underutilized spaces and address urban challenges such as gentrification, public space use, or social equity. Successful AiR programs involve close collaboration between planners and artists to ensure that the residency meets the needs of both the artist and the community. This might include providing logistical support, defining the scope of the residency, and facilitating connections with local resources.

Arts Infrastructure

Arts infrastructure refers to the physical spaces, facilities, and resources that support the creation, presentation, and preservation of the arts within a community. Arts infrastructure helps enhance cultural vitality, economic development, social cohesion and culture preservation. 

• Arts infrastructure includes everything from theaters, galleries, and museums to studios, public art installations, and cultural centers, as well as the systems that support arts education, funding, and accessibility.

• Studios, rehearsal spaces, maker spaces, and workshops are essential for artists to create and develop their work. Providing affordable and accessible creative spaces is crucial for nurturing local talent.

• Schools, universities, and community education programs that offer arts education are an integral part of the arts infrastructure. These institutions help cultivate new generations of artists and art appreciators.

• While arts infrastructure can stimulate economic development, it can also lead to gentrification and the displacement of local communities and artists. Planners should consider strategies to mitigate these impacts, such as affordable housing for artists or zoning protections for cultural spaces.

• Planners should consider integrating cultural planning into the broader urban planning process to ensure that arts infrastructure is considered alongside other community needs like housing, transportation, and economic development. Mixed-user development and public-private partnerships often play a key role in the development of arts infrastructure.

Arts Planning

Arts Planning is the process of integrating the arts into community and urban planning to enhance the cultural, social, and economic vitality of a place. It involves strategies to support and promote the arts, culture, and creativity within a community. Benefits of arts planning include enhanced quality of life, economic development, social cohesion, and cultural identity. Examples of arts planning initiatives include cultural districts, public art programs, and arts events. 

• Key Elements of Arts Planning:

  • Cultural Assessment: Conducting a cultural assessment involves gathering data on existing cultural assets, resources, and needs within the community. This includes identifying cultural organizations, artists, venues, and public art.

  • Policy Development: Creating policies that support the arts, such as funding mechanisms, zoning regulations that promote cultural districts, and incentives for arts-related development.

  • Arts Infrastructure: Planning for the development and maintenance of physical spaces for the arts, including theaters, galleries, studios, and public art installations.

  • Public Art Programs: Integrating public art into urban design and development projects, ensuring that artworks are strategically placed in public spaces to enhance the visual environment and reflect the community’s identity.

  • Cultural Districts: Establishing designated areas within a city where arts and cultural activities are concentrated, fostering a vibrant cultural scene and attracting visitors.

  • Creative Placemaking: Using arts and culture to shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, district, or city, making it more vibrant, inclusive, and economically viable.

Planners should consider the integration with Urban Planning, ensuring that arts planning is integrated into broader urban planning efforts, such as land use planning, economic development, and transportation planning.

Arts-Based Placemaking

Arts-Based Placemaking is a collaborative approach to urban planning that uses arts and cultural activities to shape the physical, social, and economic character of a place. This practice integrates creative expression into the design and activation of public spaces, aiming to foster community engagement, cultural identity, and economic vitality.

Arts-based placemaking projects includes: 

• Public Art Installations: These can range from murals and sculptures to interactive artworks that invite public participation, serving as landmarks and points of pride for the community.

• Cultural Events and Festivals: Regular events, such as music festivals, art walks, or theater performances, can activate public spaces, draw visitors, and create a lively atmosphere.

• Temporary Interventions: Pop-up art installations, performances, or events can temporarily transform a space, testing new ideas and engaging the community in creative ways.

• Creative Urban Design: Integrating artistic elements into the design of streetscapes, parks, and buildings can enhance the aesthetic quality of the urban environment and improve the user experience.

Collaborative Planning

Collaborative Planning is a process where various stakeholders, including community members, government agencies, and private organizations, work together to develop and implement plans and policies. This approach emphasizes shared decision-making, communication, and cooperation to address complex issues and achieve common goals.

Effective collaborative planning involves structured processes such as public meetings, workshops, and advisory committees to facilitate dialogue and collaboration. Planners should also use transparent methods for sharing information and collecting feedback to ensure that all voices are heard and considered. 

Building strong partnerships and maintaining ongoing communication with stakeholders are key to successful collaboration.

Collaborative planning leads to more resilient and adaptable solutions by leveraging collective expertise and resources. It helps create plans that are not only technically sound but also socially equitable and widely supported, contributing to more sustainable and livable communities.

Comprehensive Plan

A Comprehensive Plan is a long-term strategic framework that guides the development and growth of a community. It outlines a vision for the future, sets goals, and provides a roadmap for achieving them through policies, strategies, and actions. This plan covers various aspects of community development, including land use, transportation, housing, economic development, and environmental sustainability.

The plan should establish clear goals and objectives that address identified issues and opportunities. It includes policies and strategies that outline how to achieve these goals, such as land use regulations, infrastructure investments, and community programs. Planners must ensure that the plan is flexible enough to adapt to changing conditions while providing a consistent framework for decision-making.

Creative Businesses

Creative businesses are part of the broader creative economy, which includes industries such as advertising, architecture, arts, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, publishing, software, toys, games, TV, radio, and video games. Creative businesses are driven by innovation, originality, and the ability to generate cultural and economic value through creativity.

• Planners can create zoning regulations that allow for live/work spaces, studios, and small-scale production facilities, providing creative businesses with the flexibility they need to thrive.

• Establishing cultural and creative districts can cluster creative businesses together, fostering collaboration, innovation, and economic growth in these areas.

• Providing affordable and accessible infrastructure, such as co-working spaces, maker spaces, and high-speed internet, can help creative businesses operate more effectively and efficiently.

Creative Communities

Creative Communities refer to places where creativity, innovation, and cultural activities thrive, often characterized by a high concentration of artists, creative industries, cultural organizations, and supportive infrastructure. These communities leverage the arts and creativity as drivers for social, economic, and cultural development. 

Role of Planners in Developing Creative Communities includes: 

• • Supporting Cultural Infrastructure: Planners can support the development of cultural spaces, such as art studios, theaters, and public art installations, that serve as focal points for creative activity.

  • Fostering Collaboration: Planners can facilitate collaboration between artists, cultural organizations, businesses, and local government, creating networks that support the creative economy.

  • Encouraging Creative Placemaking: Planners can incorporate arts and culture into urban design and development projects, enhancing the aesthetic and cultural value of public spaces.

  • Policy Development: Planners can advocate for policies that support the creative sector, such as zoning regulations that allow for live/work spaces, funding for arts programs, and incentives for creative businesses.

• The success of creative communities can sometimes lead to gentrification, where rising property values and living costs displace original residents and artists. Planners must balance development with strategies to ensure affordability and inclusivity.

• Planners should involve artists, cultural organizations, and community members in the planning process to ensure that the development of creative communities is inclusive and reflective of local needs.

Cultural Competence

Cultural Competence refers to the ability to understand, respect, and effectively engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It involves recognizing and appreciating differences in values, beliefs, practices, and communication styles, while adapting interactions and services to meet the needs of various cultural groups.

For urban planners, cultural competence is essential in ensuring that planning processes and outcomes are inclusive and reflective of the community’s diversity. Planners must be attuned to the cultural context of the communities they serve, acknowledging historical, social, and economic factors that shape the experiences and needs of different groups. This helps planners create more equitable and accessible environments.

Cultural District

A Cultural District is an area that is recognized for its concentration of cultural, artistic, and creative activities, institutions, and enterprises. 

Cultural districts are often established to stimulate local economies by attracting tourists, creating jobs, and supporting local businesses, especially in creative industries like galleries, theaters, and artisanal shops. Cultural districts play a key role in preserving and promoting the unique cultural heritage of a community, ensuring that traditional arts and cultural practices are maintained and celebrated.

Zoning regulations need to support a mix of uses within the district, including spaces for performances, galleries, studios, and cultural institutions, as well as residential and commercial areas that can sustain these activities.

Adequate infrastructure, including transportation, parking, and public amenities, is essential for supporting the increased foot traffic and events typical of cultural districts.

Successful cultural districts often involve collaboration between local government, artists, cultural organizations, businesses, and residents. It’s crucial to engage diverse voices in the planning process to ensure that the cultural district serves all segments of the community, including historically marginalized groups.

Challenges include gentrification - displace long term residents and businesses and that the long-term sustainability of cultural districts requires ongoing support, investment, and adaptation to changing cultural and economic conditions.

Cultural Organizations

Cultural Organizations are entities dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and dissemination of culture, arts, and heritage. They can range from museums, galleries, and theaters to community arts centers, historical societies, and cultural festivals. These organizations play a critical role in nurturing artistic expression, fostering cultural understanding, and providing access to cultural experiences for the public.

Planners can facilitate partnerships between cultural organizations and other stakeholders, including local government, businesses, and community groups, to align cultural activities with broader community development goals.

Design Charrettes

Design Charrettes are collaborative, intensive planning and design sessions that bring together community members, stakeholders, and professionals to develop solutions for urban planning and development projects. The goal of a charrette is to generate creative ideas, gather diverse perspectives, and produce a cohesive design that addresses the needs and desires of the community while considering technical and regulatory constraints.

In a charrette, participants work closely with architects, urban planners, and designers to discuss challenges, review concepts, and refine design proposals. These sessions typically involve multiple workshops over a short period, fostering rapid feedback and iteration on ideas. By engaging stakeholders early in the process, design charrettes help build consensus and ensure that the final plan reflects the community's vision and values.

For urban planners, charrettes are an effective tool for gathering input on complex projects, such as neighborhood revitalizations, public spaces, or transportation networks. They allow planners to balance community input with expert knowledge and technical feasibility. The collaborative nature of charrettes helps identify potential conflicts or concerns early, reducing opposition and enhancing the likelihood of successful project implementation.

Digital Engagement

Digital Engagement refers to the use of online tools and platforms to involve the public in planning, decision-making, and community discussions. This approach allows for broader, more accessible participation by leveraging websites, social media, virtual meetings, online surveys, and interactive maps. Digital engagement is becoming increasingly important as more communities seek to engage residents who may be unable to attend traditional in-person meetings due to time, geographic, or other constraints.

In the urban planning context, digital engagement enables planners to reach a wider and more diverse audience, fostering inclusivity in the planning process. It provides opportunities for people to give input on projects, policies, or developments at their convenience, often through interactive platforms that visualize proposed changes and solicit feedback. Tools like online polls, forums, and virtual town halls allow residents to voice concerns, offer suggestions, and stay informed about planning activities.

Effective digital engagement requires careful planning to ensure the platforms are user-friendly, accessible, and culturally sensitive. Urban planners must consider digital equity, ensuring that all community members, including those without access to high-speed internet or digital literacy skills, can participate. In many cases, combining digital methods with traditional engagement approaches can help ensure that input is inclusive and representative of the community.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) refers to the practices, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage. ICH enhances cultural identity, social cohesion, and cultural diversity. 

• Components of ICH include oral traditions and expression, performing arts, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship. 

• Many forms of intangible cultural heritage are transmitted orally or through practice, making them vulnerable to loss if not adequately documented. The commercialization of cultural practices can alter their original meaning and context, leading to a loss of authenticity and cultural significance.

• Planners should ensure that 

  • Tourism development is managed in a way that respects and preserves the integrity of the heritage, rather than exploiting or diluting it.

  • The communities who own and practice intangible cultural heritage have control over how it is used, represented, and shared. This includes obtaining consent before documentation or promotion.

  • Any economic benefits are equitably shared with the communities who are the custodians of these practices.

Overlay District

An Overlay District is a zoning tool used in urban planning to apply a specific set of additional regulations on top of the existing zoning rules for a particular area. Unlike traditional zoning, which divides areas into exclusive categories (such as residential or commercial), an overlay district allows for targeted regulations or incentives that address specific planning goals without changing the underlying zoning designation. These districts are typically used to guide development in areas with unique needs or conditions, such as historic preservation, environmental protection, or economic revitalization.

Overlay districts can introduce new requirements or relax existing ones, depending on the desired outcome. For example, a historic overlay district might require stricter design standards to preserve architectural character, while a floodplain overlay district might impose additional building regulations to reduce flood risk. Similarly, an overlay district could be used to encourage development in underutilized areas by offering incentives for mixed-use projects or affordable housing.

For urban planners, overlay districts offer flexibility in managing growth and development while addressing specific community objectives. They allow planners to protect valuable resources, guide new development in ways that align with long-term plans, and create more tailored solutions for the needs of a particular neighborhood or corridor.

Participatory Planning

Participatory Planning is a collaborative approach to urban and regional planning that actively involves community members, stakeholders, and various interest groups in the decision-making process. This method seeks to incorporate diverse perspectives and local knowledge into planning efforts to ensure that development projects and policies meet the needs and preferences of the community.

Public Art 

Public Art refers to artworks created for public spaces and accessible to the general population. Public art is a medium for cultural expression, often reflecting the values, history, and identity of a community.

• Public art contributes to community identity, social cohesion, and cultural dialogue. Public art can also boost local economies by attracting tourists, increasing foot traffic, and enhancing property values. 

• Public arts includes Sculptures and Monuments, Murals and Graffiti Art. It also includes Digital and Media Art, such as projections, light displays, and digital installations that utilize technology to create dynamic public art. 

• Regarding site selection, planners should consider visibility, accessibility, and the context of the surrounding environment to ensure the artwork is well-integrated into the space. Public art should be considered as part of the broader urban design strategy. 

• Planners should work closely with artists to understand their vision and ensure that the artwork aligns with the community’s goals and the physical constraints of the site.

• Public art can be funded through sources like public art programs, developer contributions, grants, and private donations. Some cities have a "percent for art" program, where a percentage of capital project budgets is allocated for public art.

• The challenges of public arts include long-term maintenance, vandalism, and controversy.

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement refers to the process of involving individuals, groups, and organizations who have a vested interest in a project, policy, or decision. In urban planning, stakeholders typically include community members, local businesses, government agencies, non-profits, and interest groups, all of whom may be affected by planning decisions or have input into shaping them. Effective stakeholder engagement ensures that diverse perspectives are considered, promoting more inclusive, transparent, and well-rounded outcomes.