Knight Soul of the Community (SOTC) is a three-year study conducted by Gallup of the 26 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation communities across the United States employing a fresh approach to determine the factors that attach residents to their communities and the role of community attachment in an area’s economic growth and well-being. The study focuses on the emotional side of the connection between residents and their communities.
Read MoreWith concerns over job creation and business growth holding a prominent—and persistent—position on policy agendas today, governors are increasingly calling on state agencies to support economic growth. It’s not just economic and workforce development agencies that governors want on the case. Some governors are including state arts agencies in this all-hands-on-deck approach and are putting in place policies and programs using arts, culture, and design as a means to enhance economic growth.
Read MoreCreatve Places and Businesses are a critcal yet under-recognized element of comprehensive community development. This research investgates the current demand for debt capital among Creatve Places and Businesses through in-depth interviews with 75 individuals representng Creatve Places and Businesses, fnancial intermediaries, impact investors, philanthropic funders, and thought leaders in these felds.
Read MoreThis overview paper provides planners and policy makers with comprehensive definitions, an overview of the arts and culture field, and a framework for how the field’s strategies can enhance and inform planning practice.
Read MoreWorkforce development is any training or support program that aims to produce outstanding and well-prepared workers. Combining the arts with workforce development programs helps create well-rounded workers who not only have “hard,” technical skills in their field, but also have creative thinking skills that foster innovation and drive our global economy.
Read MoreArts-based community development (sometimes called creative placemaking)—and the deep integration of arts and culture into communities’ pursuits of healthier, more vibrant, more equitable places—has a long history in the United States that stretches back thousands of years to the first Native American tribes and laces through post-colonization history as well.
Read MoreEconomic development results in economic growth and improved quality of life. It is achieved through the collaborative work of individuals, communities, and businesses through innovation and the production of goods and services. The economic health of our communities—which means the economic health of each individual within that community—is crucial to our collective and individual success, happiness, and progress.
Read MoreThe intersection of the arts and infrastructure accrues economic and social impacts through arts infrastructure, such as performing arts centers and public art pieces as well as through the use of arts and culture to improve overall infrastructure in communities.
Read MoreSafe and affordable housing is a basic need that affects our health, access to education, and our access to security both financial and physical. Without it we can’t thrive, and whether you’re an artist or someone else in a community, the struggle to find housing that allows for the stability needed to be successful can be difficult and draining.
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