Revitalizing Rural Communities via Creative Placemaking

Transcription

1 Revitalizing Rural Communities via Creative Placemaking 26 th Annual Rural Community Economic Development Conference: Designing and Creating Economic Recovery in Rural Illinois Peoria, Illinois 2015 Chris Beck Senior Projects Advisor, USDA Rural Development

2 Placemaking? Creative Placemaking? Wait just a second there, Pardner! My place is already made! What in tarnation are you talkin about?

3 I was walkin along

4 And came upon

5

6

7 Some definitions Creative Placemaking -- positioning art and culture as a core sector of community planning and development. Essentially, mixing art and culture into the DNA of public infrastructure and public space projects that create vibrance on the street Projects that may change the game in a neighborhood or town Gets a few steps beyond traditional activities such as murals, beautification, memorials, signage, a fancy building, etc, but could include these as part of a broader strategy. Examples could include: Built environment, streetscape, facilities; Performance/exhibition and festivals; Planning/public engagement; workforce development; Artist residencies Business incubation Local food related Many more In Rural: Promotes vibrant old Main Streets, promotes farmland protection, enhances cultural economy

8 Two Key Partners: Nat l Endowment for the Arts and ArtPlace NEA s Our Town Program ($5 m/yr) small grants focused on initial steps of a creative placemaking project. Some rural. Fabulous website: ArtPlace consortium of national and regional foundations. Larger investments ($15m/yr to grantees), including some rural.

9 Little Rock, AR downtown creative corridor Street front rehearsal space for symphony and dance Street dieting Housing and commercial integration

10 Minot, ND (popn 46, 321) Centrally located artist live/workspace

11 Clarksdale, MS (popn 17,000) Community facility for local community to learn about their history and culture of the blues.

12 Haines, Alaska Popn: 1811 Storefront windows on Main St activated with local art to change the overall ambience.

13 Siler City/Greenville/Sanford, NC ArtForce: Artists + Manufacturers Strengthening Place Artists allyed with entrepreneurs, small businesses, educational institutions. Creating new products, jobs, and sense of belonging

14 Reedsburg, WI (popn 9,200) Annual food and agriculture festival, Fermentation Fest, integrating temporary art in the landscape.

15 This is just too cool!

16 Wisconsin Rapids, WI (popn 18,367) Renovating former newspaper building as arts and culture center

17 Lanesboro, MN popn: 754 Creating an arts campus throughout the town as an overall strategic economic approach

18 Summerville, GA popn: 4,534 Restoring home and studio of nationally significant folk artist, Howard Finster.

19 Wilson, NC popn: 50, 113 Creating new downtown park as home for the spectacular whirlygigs of folk artist, Vollis Simpson.

20 Ajo, Arizona (popn 3,300) Border community, former copper mine company town 3,300 popn (peak popn was 7k in 1960) Persistent high-poverty census tract Strike Force county Tribal popn (Tohono O odham people) Local Food efforts Non-profit taking lead to revitalize town square and nearby buildings formerly owned by mine co. Devising strategy around affordable housing, place-making around square, small business entrepreneurship, arts/culture economy, tourism, local food.

21 Ajo town plaza and civic buildings

22 International Sonoran Desert Alliance Food and Art as a Community/Economic Development strategy Artists housing in Curley School (HUD-funded) Farmers Market on the Plaza Community Distributed Agriculture (community foundation support) Desert Retreat Center (ArtPlace funded) with garden and community kitchen (USDA-funded). Festivals Three community performance stages to be renovated (NEA-supported) Website:

23 International Sonoran Desert Alliance project funding sources CommunityFood Project (USDA- NIFA-$160k) Community Facilities (USDA-RD- $80k grant) RBEG (USDA-RD-$99k) Hunger Free Communities (USDA- FNS-$63k) EBT machines at farmers market (USDA-FNS) ArtPlace ($535k) Our Town (NEA $100k, $50k) Ford Foundation $1.5 million Comm Found of South AZ for Distributed Agriculture effort ($350k) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (HUD $750k)

24 Ajo funding cont d Office of Community Service (HHS-$760k) Transportation Enhancements (USDOT-$500k) Freeport McMoran (mine co) $240k Comm Dev Block Grant (HUD-$30k, $30k, $70k) Comm Services Block Grant (HUD) Border Capital Initiative (HUD $200k) Rural Innovation Fund (HUD- $300k) Six rural housing and eco devo grants since 2003 (HUD) HOME (HUD $250k) HOME (HUD $800k

25 International Day of Peace Celebration September 21- every year The town plaza is decorated with peace-themed 4 x 8 wooden murals sponsored by local businesses, designed by local artists and painted by the community, along with culturally designed decorations. The celebration begins with the annual After School Peace Festival held on the Ajo Unified School District campus on Well Road. Around 5 pm, festival participants will line up at the school to begin the International Day of Peace Parade to the Plaza. Led by Tohono O odham dignitaries, carrying 1,000 origami peace cranes (a gift from a Japanese peace delegation), neighbors from Sonoyta, Mexico, and the Tohono O odham Nation will join Ajo youth and adults in the parade to the town plaza. Large dove puppet kites with 15- foot wingspans, dove and raven headdresses, giant Sonoran Desert critter puppets, peace poles and peace flags are all featured in this colorful multicultural community parade of about 200 participants. The community gathers in the Plaza around 4:30 pm to await this whimsical and colorful parade while being entertained by a Tohono O odham band and cultural foods vendors. Once the parade arrives, cultural dance troupes, stilt walkers, and more thrill the crowd with their lively entertainment.

26 A few take aways. Focus on the good things you already have, be it buildings, nature, institutions, etc. Our old main street neighborhoods are a good place to start. Everything you do might be centered around that place. Rural places will continue to shrink. We can t afford to foster more unsightly, numbing, dispiriting, and economically-depleting sprawl. NOT Build it and they will come. Repeat NOT. Yes, build it. But do a whole bunch of other things (e.g. planning, zoning, tax incentives, federal $, etc) around a FOCUSED and INTEGRATED strategy. Work with local foundations and get them interested in leading this effort with $ and ideas. Think regionally whenever you can. And work to find ways your rural town can connect to urban economy and people. Cities should be our partners in this effort.

27 Some Online Resource Guides Partnership for Sustainable Communities munities.gov/pdf/federal_re sources_rural.pdf owledge_network/documen ts/kn/document/301483/pu tting_smart_growth_to_w ork_in_rural_communities gov/pdf/supporting_sustainable_rural _Communities_FINAL.PDF