Paseo Arts District SWOT Analysis and Recommendations

RCPL 5713 001: Urban Economic Development Planning

Emily Fitzsimmons

December 1, 2022

Study Area

• The study area is the Paseo Arts District, AKA The Paseo District and The Paseo

• Conflicting maps, so I chose the one that made the most sense in relation to the content and data of the neighborhood

• Located in central OKC, bounded by NW 30 th St., N Walker Ave., NW 23rd St., and N Western

• Identity based on arts, culture, and historic preservation

Area Statistics

• The study area had a higher median age (38.5) in 2020, particularly compared to the state of Oklahoma (36.7)

• Paseo Arts District also had the highest per capita income but only by a slight amount; the state had the lowest

• However, Paseo had the lowest MHI in 2020, which was over $10,000 lower than OK and over $20,000 lower than the US

(“Explore” 2020)

(“Explore” 2020)

(“Explore”

Area Statistics

• Because educational attainment data is measured by the number of people within each category, percentages are used on slides 3 and 4 to more accurately compare Paseo with OK and the US

• Overall, Paseo Arts Districts seems to have higher educational attainment than both the state and the nation

• Paseo has the highest overall percentage of residents who have some college or higher educational achievement at 76% when compared to OK (57%) and the US (62%)

• Paseo also has the lowest overall percentage of residents who have a high school degree or lower educational achievement at 24%, compared to OK (43%) and the US (38%) (“Explore” 2020) (“Explore”

Area Statistics

(“Explore”)

Literature Review

ARTS & ECONOMIC PROSPERITY STUDY

INTERVIEWS WITH KIM COOPER - HART AND RANDY MARKS

OKC COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND CODE OF ORDINANCES

CENSUS DATA

WEBSITES AND NEWS

ARTICLES

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths

• Environmental Design and Connectivity

• Walkable

• Unique and historical architecture

• Mix of residential and commercial

• Well-maintained (Cooper-Hart 2022)

• Strong connections with surrounding parts of the city (Cooper-Hart 2022; “On the Map” 2019)

• Census data showed lower commute times, higher use of alternative transportation, and home to work/work to home employment flows in adjacent areas

• Connectivity with surrounding areas help sustain local economy and workforce

• Connectivity within the district helps sustain desire to live/work in Paseo

(“On the Map” 2019)

SWOT Analysis

Counts and Density of Work Locations for All Jobs in Home

Selection Area in 2019

Counts and Density of Home Locations for All Jobs in Work

Selection Area in 2019

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Strong local economy

• Diverse mix of small businesses

• Nonprofit organizations that help manage the district and support businesses

• Economic niche of arts and culture

• Paseo has been a major contributor to the arts and culture industry in OKC for many years, and its influence into other parts of the city continues to grow (Marks 2022)

• Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations and Their Audiences in the Greater Oklahoma City Region study

• Nationwide study funded by Americans for the Arts that collected data from nonprofit arts and culture organizations and patrons within urban and rural areas to document economic impact of nonprofit art and culture

• Greater Oklahoma City Region, which includes Oklahoma, Cleveland, Canadian, McClain, Logan, Lincoln, Grady, Kingfisher, Payne, and Pottawatomie Counties; collected data from 153 nonprofit art/culture organizations and 2,346 valid surveys from audiences

• Used input-output analysis and found that the arts and culture industry within this study area not only contributes to emotional/psychological quality of life but also pumps in and circulates a lot of money for the whole state (“The Economic Impact” 2017, 1-2; “Greater Oklahoma City” 2017, 1-14)

SWOT Analysis

Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts & Culture Industry on the Greater OKC Area (“The Economic Impact” 2017, 2)

Arts and Culture Expenditures by Organizations and Audiences in the Greater OKC Region (“The Economic Impact” 2017, 2)

Statewide Spending in the Arts & Culture Industry in OK in 2015, Greater OKC Region vs. Rest of the State (“Greater Oklahoma City” 2017, 3-4)

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Community leadership, action, and ownership

• History of community action still relevant today

• Multiple nonprofits that help organize and advocate for community members

• Despite different views and positions in the community, “they are very dedicated to keeping the neighborhood accessible and welcoming for all” (Cooper-Hart 2022)

SWOT Analysis

• Overall,

• The Paseo’s absolute greatest strength is its investment in experience. People are drawn to live, work, and play in the Paseo because it is a beautiful, walkable, community-driven neighborhood whose economic base – arts and culture – is an industry that, in itself, focuses on experience rather than products

• Clearly working as evidenced by their strong economic development, but it is also important to note that it is difficult to quantify the other benefits that this economic focus has, such as improved mental and emotional health, relationshipbuilding, fulfillment, and reduced production and waste

SWOT Analysis

• Weaknesses

• History of gentrification (Marks 2022)

• Evidenced by employment flows –people working in Paseo cannot afford to live in Paseo (“On the Map” 2019)

• Lack of regulations to protect existing residents

• Weakness rather than a threat because gentrification has already occurred and is likely occurring now, meaning that the district’s weakness is lack of regulatory measures that help support long-term residency of low-income people

Counts and Density of Home Locations for All Jobs in Work

Selection Area in 2019

(“On the Map” 2019)

SWOT Analysis

• Opportunities

• Further improvements to the area that improve holistic sustainability and equity based on fact that the existing community and leadership is already so well organized that these opportunities and that the zoning is already specialized (NC) –that often would not be possible in other communities – are already primed to happen in the Paseo (“Neighborhood” 2022)

• Mixed-income housing initiatives, community education and empowerment of gentrification

• Green infrastructure, circular economy, native landscaping, urban agriculture

• Incubators similar to artist residencies that already exist

SWOT Analysis

• Threats

• Disinvestment from the city

• Paseo District hardly mentioned directly in the comp plan; only indirectly referred to when the comp plan is discussing projects (PlanOKC 2020, 123, 150, 238)

• Reduces the possibility that the city will initiate any large projects in the area

• Relevancy

• Balancing historic preservation and projects so as to stay relevant while still protecting history of the area (Cooper-Hart 2022)

SWOT Analysis

Summary:

• The Paseo Arts District’s SWOT analysis results indicated that the area already has a very strong network and a healthy economic niche, but with its successes, many people have been and will be displaced

• The district has some excellent opportunities to further improve the area, but with changing economies and audiences, the district will need to learn how to adapt in a sustainable and equitable fashion

(The Paseo nd)

Recommendations

• Housing affordability

• #1 priority

• Immediate and intentional action necessary to prevent further displacement

• Begin with community education and organization from existing leaders so that current residents understand the strategies needed to ensure their ability to stay

• Once the community is empowered enough to advocate for and manage antigentrification initiatives, I would recommend

• inclusionary zoning that requires a certain percentage of housing to be affordable to low-income households

• mixture of land trusts, rent controls, and housing choice voucher acceptance

• The goal here would be to encourage a mixed-income neighborhood where low-income people would be able to comfortably live and build wealth in one place in the long-term

Recommendations

• Small business support expansion

• Paseo is already doing really well in small business support, but with increasing globalization and monopolization of economies, it is constantly getting harder for entrepreneurs to break into the market

• So Paseo leadership should not just buckle down but also start expanding their support services to small businesses and start ups

• Specifically, I recommend expanding artist residencies to include incubators for non-artist and artist start ups, particularly in vacant buildings on the southern commercial corridor because it would get that corridor more involved with the Paseo image and successes

(The Paseo nd)

(The Paseo nd)

Recommendations

• Sustainability

• Neighborhood is already relatively dense and walkable for a neighborhood mostly made up of single-family homes; the area also still has many mature trees and a large protected green space

• Still recommend initiatives in sustainability, specifically

• Landscaping – rely on existing leadership (612) to teach the community about sustainable landscaping and support people in replacing their lawns with native and/or productive plants

• Residential walkability – commercial area could benefit from transforming more parking into landscaping, sidewalks, etc., but before more is invested into making commercial areas more walkable, the residential area needs a comprehensive sidewalk system

• Energy – allow more freedom with small-scale clean energy production like solar panels; restrictions keep residents from participating in sustainability and saving money, and it keeps the district “under glass”; clean energy helps keep the area relevant with little impact on historic preservation (“Neighborhood” 2022; Cooper-Hart 2022)

Works Cited

Cooper-Hart, Kim, Interview with Emily Fitzsimmons, November 2022. Duncan, Perrin. “Stand Tall, Shop Small for OKC: Paseo District Spotlight.” Velocity, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, 19 July 2021. https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/development/stand-tall-shop-small-for-okc-paseo-district-spotlight/.

“Explore Census Data.” United States Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce, 2020. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/.

“Greater Oklahoma City.” (2017). In Arts & Economic Prosperity 5. Americans for the Arts. Presentation Slides. Marks, Randy, Interview with Emily Fitzsimmons, November 2022.

“Neighborhood Conservation District.” (2022). In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Code of Ordinances. Municode.

https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH59ZOPLCO_AR

TVIISPPUDI_S59-7300NECODI.

“Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OK) Income Map, Earnings Map, and Wages Data.” (2000 -2019). City-Data.com. Advameg, Inc. https://www.city-data.com/income/income-Oklahoma-City-Oklahoma.html.

“On the Map.” (2019). United States Census Bureau. US Department of Commerce. https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/.

PlanOKC: Planning for a Healthy Future. (2020). Oklahoma City: Planning Department. https://planokc.org/downloads/.

“The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations and Their Audiences in the Greater Oklahoma City Region.” (2017). In Arts & Economic Prosperity 5. Americans for the Arts. PDF.

The Paseo Arts District, The Paseo Arts Association, n.d. https://www.thepaseo.org.

Questions?