MINNEAPOLIS
RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF 2013 DEMONSTRATION YEAR P R E PA R E D I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H
Intermedia Arts & the City of Minneapolis P R E PA R E D B Y
Ravi Reddi, Research Assistant, University of Minnesota In Collaboration with Rainbow Research
NOVEMBER 2016
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Creative CityMaking Minneapolis
| Retrospective Study of 2013 Demonstration Year
The Kris Nelson Community-‐Based Research Program is coordinated by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota, and is supported by funding from the McKnight Foundation.
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© 2016 by The Regents of the University of Minnesota.
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MINNEAPOLIS 06 // PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
Research Questions - 07
07 // METHODS & PARTICIPANTS 08 // SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
Impacts and Patterns of Artist-City Planner Collaboration - 08
09 // PROJECT SUMMARIES
Penn Avenue Redevelopment Plan - 09 Background - 09
Lessons Learned - 10
Linden Hills Small Area Plan - 13 Background - 13
Creative community engagement strategies increase participation and outcomes - 10 Preparation as a prerequisite of collaboration - 11
Lessons Learned - 14 Effective approaches to youth engagement - 14 Challenges Experienced: Misalignment in timing and differences in approaches - 14
Capstone Research of the City’s 10-Year Historic Survey Efforts - 15 Background - 15
Lessons Learned - 17 Community engagement strategies allowed for greater specificity and customizability - 17 Challenges of translating and utilizing unique qualitative data - 17 Dinkytown Small Area Plan - 18 Background - 18 Lessons Learned - 18 Creative community engagement strategies can help facilitate discussions between conflicting constituencies 18 - 20 Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) Transitional Station Area Action Plan - 21 Lessons Learned - 21 Demonstrating new models of community engagement alongside traditional models for maximum community inclusion - 21 Challenges due to structural complexities and multi-stakeholder coordination - 22
22 - 23 // SUMMARY OF LESSONS LEARNED AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
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PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW Creative CityMaking Minneapolis (CCM) is an innovative
of young people and communities of color in its planning
program that pairs staff in City of Minneapolis departments
process. Nearly 40% of artist-delivered surveys were filled
with experienced community artists. CCM was launched as
out by people under the age of 24 compared with only 8% of
a collaboration between Intermedia Arts (IA) and the Arts,
surveys delivered by the City. Using the City’s conventional
Culture, and the Creative Economy (ACCE) program of the City
survey methods, the percentage of survey respondents who
of Minneapolis. The goals for the program were to increase
are of color was 15%; with artist involvement, the response
participation of diverse communities in determining the city’s future
rate from people of color rose to 60%.2
and to develop a city that is a living work of art. •
CCM as a program and CCM projects are aligned with
In 2013 Minneapolis artists were embedded in the Long Range
advancing the City’s goal of integrating arts and cultural
Planning Division of the City’s Community Planning and Economic
approaches into other areas of City business through an artist
Development Department and charged with developing fresh
in residence program. The CCM program was developed to
and innovative approaches for addressing the transportation,
meet a policy objective of the Arts, Culture and the Creative
economic, environmental and social issues facing Minneapolis.
Economy program through the City’s 2005 plan for Arts and
Four teams of artists and City planners focused on five planning
Culture which also called for a greater role for communities
projects. This demonstration year was made possible with the
of color in the City’s cultural and civic leadership. This work
support of a grant to Intermedia Arts from ArtPlace America.1
is increasing the capacity of the City to address inequities in political representation, housing, transportation, income, and
During the demonstration year for Creative CityMaking (2013): •
CCM engaged more than 1800 people at 58 different arts-
community engagement. •
The success of the demonstration year inspired a significant
based community events in dialogue about key community
financial investment from private, federal and municipal
and City planning issues. Ninety percent of these respondents
resources, including an investment of $1 million from the
had never participated in a City planning process.
Kresge Foundation, $50,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, and significant investment from the City of
•
Twenty-two new field-tested tools and strategies for engaging
Minneapolis,
traditionally underrepresented communities were developed within the first year of the CCM effort. In a testament to their
From the evaluation of the demonstration year 2013, we have
effectiveness, these tools have been adopted by community
evidence that the artist-City planner collaborations resulted
organizations and are being used to foster more inclusive
in new community outreach strategies and new community
engagement about community issues, such as health equity.
feedback into the City planning process. The following report is a retrospective study that gathers additional data to advance
Following the demonstration year for Creative CityMaking (2013):
understanding of how the 2013 artist collaborations influenced the development plans and impacted final Small Area Plans.
•
The program expanded from one to five departments
The report also explores what learnings have been integrated
(2015-2016). Building on the success of the CCM model, City
into departmental processes.
departments have begun institutionalizing artist involvement by contracting with artists for engagement activities beyond the scope of CCM. •
Drawing upon CCM strategies, the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy program demonstrated that artist-driven engagement has dramatically increased the participation
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Creative CityMaking Minneapolis
http://www.artplaceamerica.org/about/introduction ArtPlace America (ArtPlace) is a ten-year collaboration among a number of foundations, federal agencies, and financial institutions that works to position arts and culture as a core sector of comprehensive community planning and development in order to help strengthen the social, physical, and economic fabric of communities. 1
City of Minneapolis Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy program (2016). The Minneapolis Creative City Road Map, a 10-year Strategic Plan for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. 2
| Retrospective Study of 2013 Demonstration Year
RESEARCH QUESTIONS Data collection for the retrospective study was designed to answer the following key questions in relation to the CCM demonstration year 2013.
METHODS & PARTICIPANTS To answer the research questions, ten key informant interviews were conducted in the fall of 2015 with City employees and consultants involved in the 2013 demonstration year of Creative CityMaking. Participants included Principal City Planners, Directors, Division
01. How was the collaboration teams’ work integrated into the policymaking process?
a. Are there signs of institutionalization?
Have these collaborations led to
institutionalized strategies, like more
emphasis on hiring artists?
Managers and other key stakeholders. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and the content was thematically analyzed. Additionally, City of Minneapolis Small Area Plans created during the pilot period with the involvement of artists were reviewed. Interviews were designed to answer key research questions 1, 2, and 3; review of existing Small Area Plans contributed to an understanding of research question 3. Interview protocols were created with input from Intermedia
02. How did the narratives of underrepresented communities and/or new outreach strategies impact or
Arts and the ACCE office; the ACCE office assisted with scheduling interviews and recruiting key informants.
influence the Small Area Plan process? This study was supported through a request from Intermedia Arts to 03. While the collaboration resulted in unique community outreach strategies and a new diversity of inputs, did the Small Area Plans and the subsequent
the Community-Based Research Programs at University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), which enabled the placement of a research assistant for this project.3
policy decisions, in whole or in part, reflect the outcomes of these new engagement strategies?
3
http://www.cura.umn.edu/CBR
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SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS IMPACTS AND PATTERNS OF ARTIST-CITY PLANNER COLLABORATION The retrospective research on Creative CityMaking 2013 surfaced a number of patterns in artist/City collaborations focused on innovation. Demonstration of innovation in community engagement & problem-solving: •
Demonstrated new approaches to effectively engage communities who are underrepresented through standard engagement practices, including taking engagement to the street (going to where people are, rather than expecting people to come to the City)
•
Successfully engaged new community residents in City planning processes
•
Showed ways to make complex City issues accessible, relatable and often fun
•
Surfaced conflict and diverse perspectives to get to a more complete understanding of community conditions
•
Modeled accountability by sharing back to the community directly what had been heard. (i.e., through Bus Stop Theater on Penn Avenue)
•
Generated opportunities for community dialogue, including intergenerational exchange
CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED IN COLLABORATION
Outcomes within the planning department: • •
Increased departmental capacity for innovation and creative problem solving
•
Enhanced City staff capacity for collaboration with those who think differently from their usual colleagues
•
Increased departmental appreciation of conflict as a resource for promoting innovation
Outcomes within the community:
Incorporate artists into project design from the beginning
•
Address challenges of translating and utilizing artistdriven qualitative information into actionable data
•
Community engagement
•
Drew interest and attention to City issues through intriguing and constructive means
strategies allow for greater
•
Informed and educated community about City issues
customizability
•
Fostered new understanding in the broader community of the value of City planning
•
Potentially fostered ongoing community and civic engagement
leadership for expectations in
•
Increased resident participation
terms of time and community
•
Facilitated discussions between conflicting community constituencies
engagement at the onset
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Creative CityMaking Minneapolis
| Retrospective Study of 2013 Demonstration Year
community specificity and
•
Prepare City staff and
PROJECT SUMMARIES PENN AVENUE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN BACKGROUND
The communities influenced by the Penn Avenue redevelopment project are some of the most diverse in Minneapolis. These
Beginning in 2012, three public entities, Hennepin County, the
communities also have the highest rates of poverty in the city,
City of Minneapolis, and Metro Transit, partnered together to
with the neighborhoods of Jordan, Hawthorne, Near North,
look at and redevelop Penn Avenue North, a key transportation
Harrison, and Willard Hay having poverty rates ranging from 30%
artery in North Minneapolis. The value of Penn Avenue to
to 75% percent.5
its surrounding community can best be summarized by the importance of public transportation, “There are significant
In relation to the city at-large, election participation rates are the
concentrations of households without vehicles- up to 52 percent
lowest in the neighborhoods of North Minneapolis. Likewise,
in some census tracts.� 4 The need for redevelopment along
those in Near North Minneapolis who are most influenced by
Penn Avenue was further reinforced in the same report, the
the Penn Avenue redevelopment plan, have rated Minneapolis
Penn Avenue Inventory and Assessment, finalized in 2014. The
and their neighborhoods less positive as places to live than
planning and redevelopment process is still underway and is now
individuals from other Minneapolis communities in a citywide
called Penn Avenue Community Works.
resident survey conducted in 2012.6
Residents Rating of Minneapolis as a Place to Live, by Neighborhood
91%
85%
93%
89%
97%
54%
60%
58%
60%
96%
93% 81%
85%
93%
91%
96%
92% 74%
93%
87%
96% 83%
87%
80%
99%
91%
100%
40%
20%
Rating for Minneapolis
ll ve ra O
ity rs ve U ni
ut So
de w Po
hw
rh o
es
t
rn
s
N or
Ph
th
ill
ea
ip
st
is om ok N
N ea
rN or
th
w gf
el
lo
l en tr a C
am de n C
Lo n
C al
ho u
n-
Is l
es
0%
Rating for Neighborhood
4
http://www.hennepin.us/~/media/hennepinus/residents/transportation/penn-avenue-community-works/pacw-inventory-analysis-exec-summary.pdf?la=en
5
http://www.hennepin.us/~/media/hennepinus/residents/transportation/penn-avenue-community-works/pacw-inv-analysis-5-demo-data.pdf?la=en
6
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@Citycoordinator/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-134245.pdf
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Due in large part to the importance of the project vis-à-vis
priorities. City staff were able to incorporate community input
the broader community of North Minneapolis, the Penn
into their planning processes.
Avenue project represented an opportunity for a CCM 2013 collaboration team to help “stimulate economic development,
The artist-planner collaboration was effective in engaging people
job creation, housing strategies, beautification, and livability,
in the targeted neighborhoods. Whereas the traditional method
in and between the string of commercial nodes along this
of community engagement, characterized by a few community
important spine in North Minneapolis.”
meetings, provides access for only a limited number of people, the creative engagement style utilized by the artist-planner
Artists Ashley Hanson and Wing Young Huie, in collaboration
collaboration team successfully engaged a greater number of
with planner Jim Voll, created several community engagement
community residents. Overall, through 21 unique events with
strategies that were used throughout the community
local residents, small businesses and faith-based groups, over
engagement period of the planning process. These included
450 individuals were engaged in the city planning process.
Jeopardy-like games, theatre performed at bus-stops, ping-
Based on the input of residents, City staff identified that public
pong game conversations, and happy hour engagement
safety and transit improvement were big priorities and were able
activities in local restaurants and bars, to name a few. The
to incorporate community input into their planning processes.
collaboration team made use of the full range of positive social
According to available documents and interviews, community
interactions and created specialized strategies that helped
input gathered by artists have proved to be insightful/informative
gather substantive community input in the Penn Avenue
to the planning process on issues ranging from addressing poor
planning process. (See examples “tools” below.)
pedestrian facilities to unsafe pedestrian crossings.
Unlike other planning projects that were part of CCM 2013
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(with the exception of the SWLRT project), the Penn Avenue
Creative-CityMaking-partnership
http://www.intermediaarts.org/Artists-team-up-with-City-planners-in-unique-
Redevelopment Plan remains unfinished. In this case, the agencies leading the project are Hennepin County and Metropolitan Council, and not the City of Minneapolis (the City was a collaborating agency in this project). The following themes emerged as important insights about the work of collaboration teams: 1.
Creative community engagement strategies increase participation and outcomes.
2.
Preparation is a prerequisite for collaboration, so public institutions need to prepare for such collaborations, especially the added work and the necessary flexibility in institutional processes that will be needed for such collab
LESSONS LEARNED Creative community engagement strategies increase participation and outcomes. According to available documents and interviews, community inputs gathered by artists have carried weight in the planning process in issues ranging from addressing poor pedestrian facilities to unsafe pedestrian crossings. Based on information collected at 21 creative community engagement site events that reached more than 450 people in specific neighborhoods, staff identified that public safety and transit improvement were big
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Creative CityMaking Minneapolis
| Retrospective Study of 2013 Demonstration Year
P E N N : 2 0 1 3 - E A R LY 2 0 1 4 C O M M U N I T Y I D E A S A N D I N P U T B Y C A T E G O R Y
1. BIKES / PEDESTRIANS (ROADWAYS; CONNECTIVITY) WALKING, BIKING, SAFETY
CONNECTIVITY
•
Walkability and biking are very important; most people will walk or bike to the station
•
Poor connections
•
Better bike/walk connections to parks and other amenities
•
Walkable community
•
Lack of sidewalks (cemetery and 44th)
•
Make Penn Avenue greener and more pedestrian-friendly
•
Poor bike/walk connections to parks (Theodore Wirth)
•
Pedestrian and bicyclist safety
•
No sidewalks existing along the cemetery
•
Pedestrian crossings need improvement
•
Crossing street is such a concern at 44th, need to make it more walkable
•
Missing at 44th and Osseo Road at the curve, west side from 44th to Parkway there is no sidewalk
Flexibility will be required of these processes.
PREPARATION AS A PREREQUISITE OF COLLABORATION Multiple City staff described a need for additional focus on
Interestingly, staff also mentioned that much of the added
improvements that the City of Minneapolis could implement at
workload was a result of a fundamental shift in how community
an institutional level in order for the program and collaborations
engagement activities occur. “This type of engagement…is
between artists and staff to be more successful.
becoming the norm in planning projects. It’s no longer just about
having three community meetings.”
Specifically, one staff described
the challenge of balancing the
In addition to understanding the added
additional time required to
workload placed on City planners in
participate in the Penn Avenue
collaborations such as these, staff discussed
collaboration team on top of his
the need to also understand how being
workload as a City planner.
involved in such collaborations impacts
“A lot of the time I spent on this
existing City processes, and how much
was beyond the work week.”
flexibility will be required of these processes.
Staff reported feeling as if the
“It would have been more useful to have
collaboration was something he
more time to design the projects.”
was doing on his own time and
suggested that it is important
Staff reported the importance of reconciling
for institutional collaborators
timelines of existing City projects and the
to emphasize that such
needs of the collaboration teams and CCM 2013,
collaborations are a part of the City planning job and should be
“…it was hard to hold projects until we could find artists.”
considered in decisions about financial compensation. City staff
Furthermore, it was mentioned that arbitrary timelines may run
also reported that institutionalizing such collaborations would
against the broader goals of the Creative City Making program.
require a complete understanding of what is required of City
For example, staff reported that limiting the work to within a
employees on the part of decision-makers.
calendar year was a bit “artificial.”
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Tool Box Graphics created by Lacey Haire for the 2013 Creative CityMaking exhibit
PENN AVE NORTH SMALL AREA PLAN TOOL NAME: Third Place Pop-Up Gallery PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Empty storefront or community space SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Attracting people to a fun communal event
PENN AVE NORTH SMALL AREA PLAN
HOW WE USED IT: 1. is the workplace. Third places are anchors of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. How can you convert your community meeting into a true third place? 2. Ask artist performers from that community to do something interactive with the audience. 3. Make it informal and conversational. 4. Refreshments 5. Use various engagement concepts exampled here, such as Ping Pong Conversations, Jeopardy, Pen(n) Project, CityMaking Jeopardy, Six-Word Stories.
TOOL NAME: Pen(n) Project PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Anywhere SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Anyone
HOW WE USED IT: 1. Purchase a large notebook and a selection of colorful pens 2. Write the project name on the notebook and secure the pens to the front of the notebook 3. 4. Approach someone on the street or at an event and ask them to participate in a written community dialogue TOOL NAME: Bus Stop Theater 5. Read them the question and engage in conversation – once they have processed their response, ask them to write PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan it in the book using a pen color of their choice SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Bus Stops on a main thoroughfare SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Actors, playwrights, directors, facilitators; Audience – general public6. After they have written their response, ask them to write a question they would like to ask someone else in their community 7. Thank them and take the book to the next participant using public transportation 8. Repeat Steps 4-7 HOW WE USED IT: 1. Select a location and topics relevant to that location 2. Partner with a local theater company or group 3. Collaborate with partner to decide on basic information, structure and themes to be addressed 4. Engage a playwright, director and facilitator associated with the theater and the community 5. Share the information, structure, and themes with the playwright and allow them the artistic liberty to interpret the information TOOL NAME: Ping Pong Conversation 6. Plan the audience’s route and stops PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan 7. Once the script and route are complete, the director selects a cast that is associated with the community and they begin rehea rsals SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Indoors or outdoors 8. SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: People on the street, at community events the audience then gets on the bus and travels to the next location to witness the second scene, followed by a facilitated conve rsation 9.
café for conversation about the performance – responses are recorded
TOOL NAME: CityMaking Jeopardy PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Bus Stops, Street, Events SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Anyone
HOW WE USED IT: 1. If you don’t have a ping-pong table, some party rentals may have them (ping-pong is trendy!). 2. Buy cheap ping-pong balls (Target). 3. Have two containers (bowl, box, etc) of balls, one holding blank balls. Ask people to pick a ball and write (magic marker) a question that matters to them on the ball. Deposit that ball into the second container. Participants then draw at random from the second container and play a game discussing the question on that ball (keeping score is not important). 4. with their chalkboard answers.
HOW WE USED IT: 1. Engage in a Chalk Talk Workshop with a group of community members to form a list of essential questions TOOL NAME: Six-Word Stories 2. Purchase a 4’ x 4’ sheet of plywood – paint it with colorful paint and 16 squares of chalkboard paint PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan 3. Optional: Create a brace with wheels for mobility SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Community meetings and events 4. Select and write four categories that questions can be placed in thematically SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Facilitator; Anyone 5. 6. Take the CityMaking Jeopardy board to a bus stop, community event, or street corner and ask people if they would like HOW WE USED IT: to play a game; if they would like to participate, ask them to select a topic that resonates with them 1. Based on Hemmingway’s six-word story contest, this activity allows participants to be creative while providing the 7. Read the questions underneath that topic and ask them to select a question they would like to answer – engage in a conversation facilitator with telling information about the core sentiment of their experience of a place with them about that question and ask them to write their response on a chalkboard (see Traveling Chalkboard) and photograph eir th response 2. Purchase a pack of note-cards, twine, markers, and clothespins 8. Thank them for participating and hand them a Creative CityMaking sticker (or other gift) in exchange for their participation 3. String the twine between two objects like a clothesline 9. Repeat 4. Select the theme or essential question you would like the six-word stories to address 5. Explain the concept of a six-word story, which attempts to distill a person’s entire experience or narrative into a (very) short, evocative story, and ask participants to write their six-word story on a note-card and clip it to the twine with a clothespin 6. During the community meeting or event, take a moment to read some of the six-word stories to provide a snapshot sense of where everyone in the room is coming from related to the issue TOOL NAME: Traveling Chalkboard PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Ave North Small Area Plan SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Anywhere SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: People on the street, at community events, in businesses TOOL NAME: Happy Hour (Table Tents and Coasters) HOW WE USED IT: PLANNING PROJECT: Penn Avenue North Small Area Plan 1. Make your own chalkboards. Home Depot has sheets of SUGGESTED LOCATION OF USE: Bars or restaurants black chalkboards 2 x 4 feet for $10.25 each (model # 151267). SUGGESTED OPERATOR OR AUDIENCE: Servers, Restaurant Owners, Customers Have them cut into six 12x16 inch chalkboards. 2. HOW WE USED IT: 3. Buy bag of cloth strips for cleaning chalkboards (Ace Hardware) 1. Select a key question or key questions that you would like to ask people who may not typically engage with the planning process 4. Make a list of questions you want to ask, or ask participants 2. Use a “high-tech” and “low-tech” approach by design a table tent and coaster with the question; on the table tent allow the what they think are essential questions. option for the user to tweet, text, or email their response; on the coaster allow the option to write the response on the back of the 5. Engage in a conversation (this is not an interview) about thos e coaster and turn it in to the server questions with someone by approaching them on the street, at bus stops, in 3. Engage a texting service, such as EZ Texting, to receive and compile the text messages businesses, events, etc. Based on what was brought up in the conversation, help the person decide what to write on the chalkbo ard. 4. Visit bars and restaurants in the community to explain and ask for their participation Connecting with someone you don’t know is as important as the chalkboard answer, if not e. mor 5. Drop off enough table tents and coasters for their use 6. 6. Occasionally collect coasters from the bars / restaurants and compile the information received via text / tweet / email 7. Pass it on. Give the participant a chalkboard and ask them to engage someone else. 7. Those that have sent text messages have “opted in” to the planning process – you can send additional text questions to those phone numbers to continue dialogue and they can Opt out” at any time. 8. Imagine a city where you can have instant answers to planning related questions through text messaging with your constituents
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Creative CityMaking Minneapolis
| Retrospective Study of 2013 Demonstration Year
LINDEN HILLS SMALL AREA PLAN BACKGROUND Located in southwest Minneapolis, the community of Linden Hills straddles both Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. Characterized as upper-middle class, the neighborhood embarked on a redevelopment plan in 2012 with an eye on “providing a 20 year vision for the three commercial districts of Linden Hills.” 8 9 Managed by the City of Minneapolis, the planning exercise was guided by a steering committee appointed by the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council. Described as a “thriving pedestrianfriendly and sustainable urban village that offers varied housing, commercial, open space, and transportation choices,” the planning process was initiated with five primary goals in mind as described below.
1. Keep and enhance what makes the Linden Hills commercial districts unique. 2. Ensure appropriately-scaled development. 3. Encourage complementary uses, activities, and public realm 4. Promote public infrastructure and private development that reinforces an
ecologically healthy neighborhood. 5. Support the development of a broad spectrum of life-cycle housing options.
The collaboration team consisted of one City planner, Brian Schaffer, and three artists, Caroline Kent, Roger Cummings, and Samuel Ero-Phillips. Together, the team of four created two arts-focused community engagement strategies. The first strategy was an artist-inresidency program at Southwest High School (a school in Linden Hills), and the second was an activity with “facet boxes” that engaged community members in artistic interpretations of the community they live in. 8
These commercial districts include “43rd and
Upton, 44th and Beard, and 44th and Franceand the corridors of 44th Street and France Avenue.” http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/ groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/ wcms1p-117340.pdf 9
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LESSONS LEARNED Effective approaches to youth engagement
[been used] six months earlier, there were some interesting things
In the Linden Hills Small Area Plan, the collaboration team made
left on the table because of time.”
particular efforts to reach out to community youth through an artist-in-residence program at Southwest High School. During this
In addition to timing, there were tensions regarding the different
program, the artists led a three-week-long residency as part of
operating paradigms of the artists and their public sector
the school’s arts program. As part of this engagement approach,
collaboration team partners. One City staff framed this as a
artists “guided students in activities designed to engage them with
necessary tension across all CCM 2013 collaboration teams: “We
questions regarding a vision for Linden Hills.” 10
started to perceive a different set of potential outcomes, [we had] very specific scopes.” These tensions revealed themselves in
The school-based residency provided a new avenue to educate
differences around how data was collected and communication
young residents on City planning processes and the particular
was conducted. As one city staff described: “City planners and
work of the Linden Hills City planning actively underway. City
artists approached the same issues from different directions; we
staff reported that the youth engaged in the process, “realized the
had troubles reconciling them.”
importance of planning your City.” City staff also highlighted the importance of engaging the next generation of City residents as a
For example, one staff discussed the importance of collecting
way of inherently making City planning exercises more sustainable
and collating data in order to make it easily communicable when
in the long term: “By having students participate in the process,
making policy decisions. In collaborations where the created
[…the artists] could let them tell us what they wanted.” City staff
community engagement strategies involved the collection of more
reported that creative engagement strategies developed by the
episodic qualitative or visual data loosely structured, City staff
collaboration team (and CCM 2013 collaboration teams) could
explained, “when you’re doing creative engagement, it’s really hard
assist in taking the community engagement process outside the
to take a lot of data.”
traditional planning realms and support long-term sustainability of resident-City engagement. By focusing on gaining the feedback
Another City staff, providing a perspective on how the collaboration
of youth, the Linden Hills collaboration team learned through a
team functioned within the broader planning process, suggested
creative engagement strategy what would have otherwise been lost
that “more rigor” could have improved communications between
in a traditionally-run community engagement process.
the different parties in the planning process. A lack of a structured communication process between the different parties resulted
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/ webcontent/wcms1p-117340.pdf 10
in less integration of the artists into the planning process
Challenges Experienced: Misalignment in Timing and Differences in Approaches
than there
Tensions arose in how the talents and skills of the artists should
been. These
best be utilized in the Linden Hills planning process. These
differences in
tensions were described in two key ways: timing and differences
expectations
in working styles.
and
could have
approaches to With regards to timing, City staff reported that difficulties arose
work created
within the team when the artists arrived after the planning process
a challenge in
had begun as opposed to the artists being involved in the planning
designing and
process from the beginning. As one staff described: “…the
implementing
[planning] process was well on its way and it was difficult to include
collaborative approaches that were both highly engaging to
[the artists] in an effective way. This speaks to the importance of
residents and actionable and useful to City planners. In respect to
having artists involved at the front end of any project, rather than as
the institutional perspective, a key take away is the need to clarify
an add-on after the project has begun. [… The artists] could have
at the outset differences in work style and expectations.
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CAPSTONE RESEARCH OF THE CITY’S 10-YEAR HISTORIC SURVEY EFFORTS BACKGROUND
the Historic Capstone Study, the collaboration team consisted
Since 1999, the City of Minneapolis has been systematically taking inventory of historic buildings and properties across its 87 neighborhoods. By its conclusion in 2013, “over 13,000 properties have been entered [into] its custom database system.” 11 The historic property surveys
of two members, Joe Bernard, a City planner with the City of Minneapolis, and artist Witt Siasoco. Using indoor and outdoor tactics, the collaboration team executed engagement strategies that encompassed citizen education, exhibitions, a youth internship in collaboration with the Historical Society, and a “Mobile Tracing Unit” that enabled
resulted in 12 separate reports
residents to document and reflect on the
which left a need for a more
built environment along potentially historic
unified understanding of the
corridors via tracings
City-wide scope of historic
on windows.
significance. The Historic Capstone Study project of 2013
Unlike the other projects that were selected
sought to bring “together the
to be a part of CCM 2013, the Historic
results and recommendations of
Capstone Study is unique in that it did not
all of the City’s survey work, and
entail a traditional-planning exercise. For
point the direction for the City’s
this effort, community engagement was not
heritage preservation priorities
so much intended to solicit resident input
for the next decade.”
for a future project or planning document, but rather to have residents contribute to the
The effort became a part of the CCM 2013 project with a collaboration team helping to “design and conduct a public engagement campaign to educate Minneapolis residents, the business community, educational institutions, and the general public about this rich source of data and findings about the City’s history.” 12 For
interpretation of the findings of the historic survey and to build awareness about historic preservation efforts across the city. 11
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/
webcontent/wcms1p-114144.pdf 12
Johnstad and Associates CCM Evaluation Report, 2014
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LESSONS LEARNED Community engagement strategies allowed for greater
assumptions about which communities they are charged
specificity and customizability
to serve, and how to most effectively connect with those
City staff and City consultants reported that the main strengths
communities.
of this collaboration were the abilities to specialize and customize community engagement strategies. As with other
Challenges of translating and utilizing unique qualitative data.
projects in CCM 2013, City planning staff spoke of how having
Similar to other collaborations, this team experienced the
artists “get creative” with community engagement offered
challenge of how to translate creatively-collected qualitative
many residents new avenues of access to the levers of power,
data into usable data for policymakers. One City staff
in contrast to traditional forms of community engagement that
discussed the difficulty in processing unique and creative data,
were unintentionally inaccessible.
“we didn’t anticipate that problem”, and added that it would
have been advantageous to have a third collaboration team
For example, staff discussed how certain community
member who knew about collecting and processing such
engagement strategies re-framed the relationship between
data. Going a step further, City staff said that “maybe we’re
youth and the City, much along the lines of the example
completely off the mark,” positing that perhaps such data
given in the Linden Hills collaboration. One staff described
should not be processed as tabular data at all.
the engagement of youth in the process as a way of bringing another stakeholder to the table; another viewed the engagement of youth during the Historic Capstone Study as a way to connect the individual stories of community youth with the overall narrative of the City they live in, thereby validating their lived experiences. Due to the team’s flexibility in developing community engagement strategies, the team was able to create strategies that covered a number of different areas of engagement, including education and partnering with local schools. As one staff described, in response to interactions with students during an artist-led class on city planning as part of a local high school, “it felt like…that there are kids in that class who will go into the planning profession or the arts or will have a better understanding of how to be engaged with their community.” His words speak to the long lasting implications of the work through engagement with youth residents in the community. As another staff described: “The kids did do a fun brainstorming process with an architect and City planner…and they had a lot of conversations about what Minneapolis should look like and what their community should look like…I think they connected in a way that a lot of adult politicians could benefit from.” City staff advocated that collaborations between artists and City planners can be integrated into broader City decisionmaking processes by focusing on “the way we think about the communities we try to connect with.” These types of collaborations can be systemically embedded into City planning practices by encouraging City planners to challenge
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DINKYTOWN SMALL AREA PLAN BACKGROUND Dinkytown is a fast-growing neighborhood that straddles the University of Minnesota’s northern boundary and I-35. Currently zoned for small-scale neighborhood commercial uses, the neighborhood is experiencing increasing growth in demand from students for off-campus housing. As such, the area has attracted the attention of developers looking to fulfill that demand with high-density apartment housing. With the quickly changing demographics of the neighborhood and increasing demand for housing, “changes are driving ideas and concerns about the future,” 13 as described in the CCM 2013 Evaluation Report. In this context, a collaboration team comprised of a City planner at the City of Minneapolis, Haila Maze, and three local artists, Caroline Kent, Roger Cummings, and Samuel Ero-Phillips, set out to create community engagement strategies that would bring students, a group often described as a disengaged demographic, into the planning process. The team generated innovative community engagement strategies including an interactive mobile theatre that moved around the campus community and encouraged students to provide input about the future of Dinkytown. Students who shared their input were given a t-shirt for their participation. In the case of the Dinkytown collaboration team, they provided worthwhile incentives for those who engaged in the planning process. The artist team had six months to work on this project, and to build off the work and tools they had developed in the Linden Hills Small Area Plan.
LESSONS LEARNED Creative community engagement strategies can help facilitate discussions between conflicting constituencies. The collaboration team that worked with the Dinkytown
Integrating diverse perspectives leads to better solutions.
planning process encountered a problem which was
Specifically, increased inclusivity resulted in more
unique from other projects: there were three distinct,
innovative thinking on the part of the City staff. Staff gave
sometimes conflicting community stakeholders: the
an example of the differences between the interests of the
businesses of Dinkytown, the students of the University,
different stakeholders in terms of parking; many students
and older, lifelong residents of the neighborhood. A drive
do not own cars, many longer-term residents own cars,
down 4th Avenue through the core of the Dinkytown
and many businesses need parking spaces. Thus,
business district offers a vivid example, where decades-
gathering enough input from all stakeholders, especially
old community fixtures like Al’s Diner sit in close
students who were traditionally less likely to participate
proximity to University student bars like the Library. A
in such processes, allowed for City planners to “put [the
similar example to crystallize the difference between the
differing opinions] side by side” and ask, “How are we
stakeholders further comes as one drives west towards
working on a combined solution?”
I-35, encountering sororities and new student apartment complexes across from decades, even century-old
13
Evaluation Report, 2014
housing occupied by lifelong Dinkytown residents.
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The diversity of transportation modes in use in Dinkytown made the community engagement process all the more important for developing adequate accommodation, for bikes, City buses, campus buses, cars, scooters, and pedestrian
DINKYTOWN USA
BUSINESS DISTRICT PLAN
traffic. Below is an example from the Business District Plan that was a result of the planning process. City staff reported that part of the success in being able to accommodate the needs of different stakeholders was the fact that the innovations in community engagement led to increased participation from students. Strategies like the mobile theatre allowed the collaboration team to collect information as students were moving, and did not require a captive audience. In conventional engagement practices, like the community meeting, “plans get made by people who show up.” Students typically do not attend, for a variety of reasons, causing their perspectives and input to be left out of the process. Staff identified the
Dinkytown’s transportation system is truly multimodal, with people arriving on bike, foot, car, and bus.
importance of the success in capturing the opinions of students. With regards to getting involved in City processes, students are generally “busy being students and not citizens.”
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N A N D PA R K I N G Transportation and parking recommendations, as with the
Additional staff also reported the primary challenge of reconciling three dramatically different stakeholders. Staff identified one ripple effect of the project was that it “put into sharp contrast the conflicting opinions in the neighborhood…it mobilized people.” Overall, the Dinkytown project’s use of creative engagement strategies helped to not only surface a more complex and truer understanding of community conditions through more nuanced engagement methods and a large amount of participation by students, but also helped to generate innovative solutions to enable the community and the City to move forward. Additionally this project resulted in the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission initiating the Dinkytown Historic Designation Study, which was completed in June 2015. 14
economic development, reflect that range of people who travel to Dinkytown – and how they get around the area. Parking is a major issue for those driving here, and the plan addresses that in depth. Bicycle and pedestrian access is just as important to those traveling from the campus or neighborhood, and the plan addresses that as well. Recommendations include: •
Support current efforts around providing a remote parking shuttle service.
•
Explore development of and funding for a public Dinkytown circulator bus.
•
Improve signage to and from available on- and offstreet parking.
•
Develop shared parking strategies for off-street surface parking.
•
Explore the use of “smart” parking meters in the commercial core of Dinkytown where parking demand is highest. 15
For additional information on the Dinkytown Historic Designation Study of the Dinkytown Commercial District in Southeast Minneapolis, please see: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cped/ projects/cped_dinky_study 14
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For additional information, visit http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/ groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-122228.pdf 15
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SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (SWLRT) TRANSITIONAL STATION AREA ACTION PLAN The Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) is a proposed light
that was designed to capture pedestrians’ thoughts about
rail line that will connect downtown Minneapolis to the western
public transit access and opinions of what it would be like
suburbs. From downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, the
to walk the station areas. The second engagement strategy
project envisions a 14.5-mile line with 15 stations spanning
was a roving green line, a caterpillar-like kinetic sculpture on
across five different cities. The SWLRT Transitional Station
wheels with five segments to represent each of the potential
Area Action Plan included discussions on the planning and
Minneapolis stations. The sculpture was designed to be
design of each of the 15 individual stations. The Metropolitan
moved from place to place to help collect pedestrian ideas
Council, the regional planning agency for the Twin Cities area,
while sparking conversations related to the planning process,
was the lead agency in the station planning efforts. Together
and providing an interactive medium for pedestrians to learn
with the City of Minneapolis, they partnered to engage local
more about walksheds. The use of the caterpillar structure
communities in designing five station areas within Minneapolis’
was a metaphoric way to view the green line as an organism
boundaries. The collaboration team of planners and artists
that is in service to the city as a whole. This metaphoric
envisioned “a flexible approach to introduce under-represented
sculpture provoked questions about how the station placement
voices into the various conversations both inside and outside of
discourse might be different if the light rail was viewed as “one
the existing process.” 15
organism” that is a resource for all of Minneapolis, rather than individual station areas as isolated parts.
Artist Diane Willow, in collaboration with City planners Beth Elliott and Paul Mogush developed two primary community engagement strategies. The first was a rolling foot camera
15
Creative CityMaking Final Evaluation Report, Johnstad & Associates, 2014
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LESSONS LEARNED Demonstrating new models of community engagement alongside traditional models for maximum community inclusion
land surrounding a light rail station: “Planners see them all the
In the SWLRT project, the artist was brought into a complex
as pieces of a caterpillar.”
time, but [the artist] saw it as a piece of artwork, saw the stations
planning process with previously established methods for engaging communities. As project participants discussed,
City staff attributed the impact of having an artist in the
artist involvement brought dynamic thinking to a well-
planning process as a function of how artists and planners view
worn bureaucratic process and reframed how community
community engagement differently. For example, one staff
engagement can and should unfold in projects with multiple
discussed how the artist was able to get a lot more people to
key stakeholders. City staff suggested a paradigm shift had
understand the impact of the SWLRT “in a way that felt more
occurred in how the artist collaboration team framed community
relatable, in a way that we…need to practice more.” Additional
engagement. This shift was evidenced in how the engagement
staff elaborated on this point in discussing how this “relatability”
strategies that were created appealed to the curiosity of
could be framed within the “broader idea of getting creative”
residents and approached the community from different
and creating audience-specific tools.
directions, appealing to children through the roving green line while at the same time continuing to employ strategies
City staff also reported that having artists work with City
for community engagement already in routine use by the
planners helped to “demystify” City planning work. “I think that
department. As described by city staff, the new engagement
we were able to open up the minds of the artists so that they
strategies developed creative ways for “people to approach
got a much better perspective, inside perspective, on how
the project differently…so [peoples’] questions came up more
local government works and how City planners work…
naturally.” One City staff discussed how inserting an artist into
I think it helped the City planners” to help in the artists’
the planning process changed something as uninspiring as the
creative processes.
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Challenges due to structural complexities and multistakeholder coordination
instance in which political forces impacted the use of a
The SWLRT project was unique from other projects in CCM
envisioned: the artist had developed an idea for installing eight-
2013 because of its scale and the number of outside agencies
foot-diameter helium balloons above each Minneapolis station
involved in the process. While the artist collaboration
location that would be visible from a distance to imitate a
team involved an artist and City planners from the City of
life-size Google map. These were to be displayed one Saturday
Minneapolis, the agency-in-charge of the entire SWLRT
during the engagement process and would include interactive
endeavor was the regional planning agency of the Metropolitan
exhibits at each station location as well. Unfortunately, the
Council, creating a unique dynamic in leadership. The
timing of the potential exhibit coincided with the City being in
collaboration team for the SWLRT project thus worked in a
conflict with parts of the SWLRT plan relating to Minneapolis.
context of multiple interacting agency structures, planning
The idea never reached fruition due to the view that it would be
and political processes. One City staff articulated these
seen as a “cheerleader” move, undermining the City’s position.
complexities as weighing on the collaboration: “If we are
The politics at play that influenced that decision were created
going to work with an artist, or anyone, it needs to be our
by both the individuals involved in the different organizations as
[Minneapolis] projects... rather than the county’s or anyone
well as the contextual politics of the spheres they operated in.
creative engagement strategy that their artistic counterpart had
else’s.” In a similar vein, another team member suggested that the team would have had a much greater impact had they been hired by the agencies-in-charge at the county or regional level, and been involved in community engagement across the whole breadth of the SWLRT project. The planning staff framed the complex narrative as a “value added” proposition, reporting: “This project was the most far-removed from our control [of the five CCM 2013 projects]…we viewed ourselves as doing whatever we could to add value.” The complex inter-agency nature of the SWLRT project came with political pressures that also impacted the work of the collaboration team. The obstacles they encountered, described by staff as “a reality check”, were regarding the political contexts of the engagement strategies the collaboration team had developed. The collaboration was a learning process for both the artist and the planners involving tension around the role of political advocacy and accountability. The role of the projects as political accountability was reported as a consistent tension across all CCM 2013 projects. “Artists tend to make a career by taking a position and fully representing that position…public servants represent broad constituencies”, making it less appropriate to their position to take one specific side over another. In the SWLRT project, politics played a much more active role, in which City, county, regional, state, and federal stakeholders and their representative constituencies were involved. Unlike other CCM projects focused around specific neighborhood small area plans, the SWLRT project featured a stakeholder map that was far more complex, City staff reported an
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SUMMARY OF LESSONS LEARNED AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS Overall, stakeholders reported the innovative community
of perspectives gleaned, and (2) increase the likelihood of
engagement designs were successful at engaging higher
sustained engagement in the community. When more people
numbers and different populations than traditional City
are able to contribute their ideas and feedback to City planning
engagement models, such as holding community meetings.
processes, the likelihood of resident support and satisfaction
City staff attribute this success in part to the project teams’
with City initiatives increases.
flexibility in designing engagement strategies specific and responsive to the targeted population. There is no one correct
Across multiple projects, City staff reported challenges to this
way to do community engagement because not all communities
collaborative work when dealing with political pressure and
are the same, thus not all engagement strategies need to be the
leadership across multiple sectors, clarifying expectations
same. Gathering the best and most relevant information from
between City staff and artists, and determining the best way
any community starts with understanding the community. By
to convert artist-driven data collection to actionable feedback.
understanding the target audience and how best to reach and
Throughout CCM 2013, and other creative placemaking
engage them, planners can design a customizable strategy that
initiatives, a frequently-encountered problem has been how to
engages the community in ways that are mutually beneficial for
translate creatively-collected qualitative data into usable data
both the project and the participants.
for policymakers. Ann Markusen, an economist and author of the white paper commissioned by the National Endowment of
The benefit and effectiveness of innovative community
the Arts who first coined the term creative placemaking, writes
engagement strategies was best evidenced in processes to
that successful creative placemaking entails, in part, the ability
gather feedback and involvement from youth and students.
to “[tailor] strategy to distinctive features of place” as well as
This integration of youth and student voice builds future and
“[mobilize] public will.” 16 As the field progresses, there is an
continued civic engagement and taps into a traditionally
opportunity to test best strategies for translating artist-
disengaged population. The City in turn gains significant value
driven data.
by engaging new populations. Engagement of populations who have traditionally not been the focus of community engagement activities will serve to (1) broaden the scope and diversity
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Markusen, A. & Gadwa, A. (2010). Creative PlaceMaking. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved from: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ 16
CreativePlacemaking-Paper.pdf.
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Align Potentially Conflicting Stakeholders Strategically: Lesson from the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project
staff team members, and thus will be added to current workload.
Although there is value and benefit in the diverse viewpoints
made aware of this so that City staff are relieved of other duties
multiple stakeholders bring to the projects, it is important that
and, as possible, compensated for the additional demands of
contrasting views be addressed and clearly articulated prior
their time.
It is important that participating City staff and their supervisors are
to the implementation phase of a project in order for the team to create win-win solutions for multiple stakeholders. While the structural complexities and coordination challenges were unavoidable in the SWRLT project, they can be minimized
Find Common Ground between Conflicting Community Interests: Lesson from the Dinkytown Project
and avoided in most situations. It is important that potential
Create community engagement strategies that help to bring
differences and roadblocks, political, personal or institutional,
together stakeholders who would otherwise find little reason
be named and addressed with
or minimal opportunity to convene and participate in dialogue
a plan for action should it be necessary.
with one another, especially if they hold competing interests. Thereby, a benefit of utilizing creative strategies to bring groups together is (1) the opportunity to facilitate discussions between
Onboard the Full Team from the Outset: Lesson from the Linden Hills Project
oppositional stakeholder groups, and (2) the opportunity to
To maximize the talents and value of all those involved in a
Because at times it can be challenging to create solutions that
project, active project contributors, such as artist collaborators
meet the needs of multiple groups, these strategies can make
should be included as early as possible. This serves to ensure
explicit the needs of differing stakeholder groups, making it
that not only is appropriate space given to align opposing or
easier to incorporate those needs into programs and policies.
develop solutions that meet the needs of all stakeholders.
competing paradigms, but adequate time is given for everyone to familiarize themselves with the details of the project.
Identify Better Ways to Convert Community Input to Actionable Data: Lesson from the Historic Capstone Project Information is meaningless if not utilized. While successfully bringing together groups and communities that have not been historically targeted for engagement is something to be celebrated, collaborations and engagement of new populations should not stop short at planning and engaging. The goal should be to collectively make meaning of the information in ways that are usable for the appropriate parties. This, in part, requires that procedures are put in place to not only convene and collect data, but that multiple stakeholders are committed to analysis and translation of information into formats that are most accessible to all.
Set Clear Guidelines for City Staff Involvement and Expectations: Lesson from the Penn Avenue Project Part of preparing for a collaboration of this nature is an understanding of the investment of additional time needed on the part of City staff. Much of the tasks and activities related to the project will not overlap onto the day-to-day activities of artist-City
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Creative CityMaking was launched in 2013 as a collaboration between Intermedia Arts and the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis.
ABOUT THE COLLABORATORS Intermedia Arts is a premier multidisciplinary, multicultural arts organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose mission is to be a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art. Intermedia Arts fosters more capable, healthy and equitable communities by investing in changemaking artists, cross-sector partnerships, and unique arts-based approaches to community change. The City of Minneapolis’ Arts, Culture and Creative Economy program leverages the creative sector toward social and economic growth in the city of Minneapolis. The program works with the Minneapolis Arts Commission, coordinates arts and creative economy programs and activities, promotes local arts and culture, develops policy frameworks for 21st century arts economies, and arts-based community development initiatives. The demonstration year for Creative CityMaking Minneapolis was made possible through a grant from ArtPlace
Following the demonstration year, Creative CityMaking Minneapolis was made possible through support from the Kresge Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the City of Minneapolis.
In ter m ed i aA r ts.or g 612.871.4444 // info@intermediaarts.org 2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408