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Artist and community-led revitalisation
The grassroots and artist-led movements have initiated many projects that have re-defined and repurposed the way we experience downtown neighbourhoods . Some call for action on policy level , others engage with communities on the ground . In the US , Philadelphia-based Monument Lab merges art , community participation , and storytelling in producing public and history projects that facilitate conversations around how monuments , art , and history live in public spaces . Their work has been celebrated for encouraging public engagement and critical thinking in major public spaces in Philadelphia and other US cities .
In cities around the world – from Melbourne to Manchester to Berlin – street art and performance have brought informal and authentic experiences adding a layer to those cities ’ character and creating additional ‘ hooks ’ for visitation .
Role of cultural organisations and districts
Cultural districts and large-scale cultural organisations can enable and facilitate public experiences in urban centres through community partnerships , public programming , and commissioning . For example , during the 2020 lockdown , Times Square Alliance commissioned artists to create billboards and video messages focused on celebrating emergency workers and the community displayed on screens in Times Square , NYC .
Regular activations such as festivals , seasonal events , and markets are effective at generating high footfall while also providing income opportunities to artists , makers , and small business owners . In Kingston , Jamaica , a monthly Artwalk festival and artisan market provides opportunity for local creatives to showcase and sell their work while attracting increasing numbers of visitors to downtown Kingston .
Restricted by their indoor spaces in the age of enforced social distancing measures , many cultural organisations have improvised or created long-term outdoor and offsite programmes – from concert series to film festivals to spoken word open-mic events across city centres . Ballet can be found on rooftops ( move over , cinema !), theatre can be experienced walking along what had been previously known as your daily commute to work , and public art commissions are likely to be coming to a square near you .
Public sector and public-private partnerships ( e . g . BIDs )
Outdoor programming can create employment opportunities for artists , animate public spaces and bring in liveliness and a degree of informality to the dense urban environment of city centres . Artists and makers can contribute to innovative ways of designing public spaces with physical distancing measures in mind . This can be encouraged by commissioning permanent and temporary structures , street furniture , pop-up galleries , cafes , playgrounds , and other design elements for the public realm . One example of this is a recent commission in downtown Brooklyn – a result of a collaboration between a cultural district , an urban development not-forprofit institution , and a developer – that provided a safe and intimate outdoor pavilion to host a series of site-specific music performances .
Designated public funds to address the changing nature of the downtown areas can help stimulate daytime and nighttime activity . For example , the Future High Streets Fund launched by the UK government in 2019 was set to renew and reshape the experience in downtown areas . In many cases , this renewal is led by projects with cultural uses at their core : transforming high street commercial spaces into creative studios , workshops , in partnership with
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