2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land - 66

Arts and culture represent a larger share of the U.S.
economy than transportation, agriculture, and utilities. "
-NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS & BUREAU OF
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
complex. This site, once home of the nation's
largest taxpayer as a distillery, is now one of
Canada's prosperous and most acclaimed art,
culture, and entertainment centers. The area
attracts millions of local, national, and international
visitors annually and has been a catalyst
for the development of millions of square feet
around it. Direct and indirect annual economic
benefit is estimated at tens of millions of dollars
in tax revenue.
Michael Spies, former ULI governing trustee,
asserts that art and culture must be part of
value creation during design at the start of a real
estate development project. Spies is funding a
two-year ULI program, Art in Place, to connect
artists and developers so they can have meaningful
conversations that lead to tangible arts
and culture-inspired projects.
The program, enabled by a global cohort
program led by district and national councils,
includes artist and developer convenings, community
mixers, and ULI technical assistance
panels (TAPs).
Environmental and Health Impact
Leading with art and culture helped address a
number of concerns for the city of Miami Beach.
Among those were resident pushback and aesthetic
concerns about large generators being
located in neighborhoods, lack of resident awareness
of the severity of climate change's impact
on the city and the role residents could play in
helping address it, and innovative solutions to
climate change impacts, such as addressing the
die-off of coral due to rising sea water temperatures,
which makes the city more vulnerable to
higher sea levels.
The city employed strategies involving art
and culture to address all these concerns. Three
examples of art-driven projects that have delivered
environmental and health benefits to the
city are the following:
A sculpture installed in the Sunset Harbour
neighborhood served as camouflage for a large
66
URBAN LAND
SUMMER 2023
generator hidden behind it. Residents returning
home and visitors are greeted by this welcoming
sculpture that marks the neighborhood.
The city's resilience program recruited Misael
Soto for its artist-in-residence program. He created
a pop-up stadium made from 6,000 bags
of sand that served as a gathering place for
resident awareness discussions about climate
change and how residents can help address it.
Another artist, hired by the resilience program,
designed an underwater sculpture made from
materials that regenerate dying coral. The sculpture,
visited by snorkelers and scuba divers, will
be completely covered by coral over time.
As Miami Beach demonstrates, art and culture
can promote the environment and help create
healthy places in innovative ways.
In San Antonio, Texas, is another example-
the pavilion at Confluence Park. An artist and
architect team jointly designed a concrete pavilion
that not only offers cover from the sun and
rain, but also captures rainwater and channels
it to a reservoir beneath the park's surface. The
rainwater is recycled and serves most of the
park's water needs.
Lessons Learned and Next Steps
The six case studies and other examples shared
show the multidimensional applications of creative
placemaking. Many social benefits have
come from deployment of creative placemaking
principles, ranging from connecting people and
promoting social cohesion to reducing crime
and facilitating the building of trust among
stakeholder groups. Creative placemaking is
an economic driver: all six case studies expect
economic benefits to be derived from each individual
deployment.
In many of the cases studied, creative placemaking
is a core element of the strategy. Anecdotal
evidence, backed by a growing number of
studies, demonstrates the value and economic
benefit of creative placemaking. The question to
ask is not whether value is added to a real estate
2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land
