ARTWALKS AS CULTURAL DRIVERS IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS Prepared for the Burning Man Project by Emily Appelbaum. March, 2012 The practice of injecting urban neighborhoods with art and cultural amenities has gained enormous traction in recent years as an effective strategy to improve economic and social conditions in communities. Artistic activities fit well into an urban renewal agenda; they are ideally situated in undervalued or underutilized properties because affordability and raw space are often crucial to a wide range of creative uses. Even temporary initial interventions, such as a monthly art walk, can catalyze permanent change, as art-related activities tend to attract and multiply each other, spurring additional interest and investment. This type of intervention reduces crime, increases foot traffic and improves neighborhood image. Done carefully, it can have a lasting positive impact on the region’s economy, enrich the amenities available to underserved populations, and still remain sensitive to issues of over-development and gentrification.
The Context:
Central Market Street, San Francisco, and The Burning Man Project San Francisco, acting through initiatives voted on by the Board of Supervisors as well as policy shaped by the Central Market Partnership, is seeking to revitalize the degraded mid-Market neighborhood through a wide range of strategies, including funding for arts programming and incentives like the recent payroll tax exclusion (the Twitter Tax Break). As the Burning Man Organization enters the period of transition from LLC to subsidiary of the nonprofit Burning Man Project, it will align with, bolster, and also strive to reach beyond current efforts to renew mid-Market, not only with the relocation of headquarters to 995 Market Street, but by actively directing efforts of the Project’s six program areas toward the surrounding neighborhood, in keeping with the Project’s mission to be a catalyst for creative culture in the world. Specifically, the Arts, Culture, and Civic Involvement teams will examine a number of projects designed to bring creative arts programming and civic engagement to the neighborhood, providing critically lacking resources and amenities for local residents while promoting neighborhood safety, strengthening community ties, and improving the economic climate to support growth of local businesses. A number of other arts initiatives and organizations already exist in the neighborhood, with rich opportunities for collaboration on efforts that may include community gardens, benches and parklets, art in storefronts, popup retail, and regular art walks.
SUCCESS NEXT DOOR: THE OAKLAND ART MURMUR and other precedents Oakland Art Murmur
Downtown Oakland, CA
Because they have the potential to draw large crowds, because they produce a fairly unique and challenging set of logistics, and because they have the ability to so radically impact the urban environment, looking to art walks as precedents will prove crucially instructive in shaping the Project’s efforts moving forward. A clear case-in-point lies just across the Bay in Oakland’s Art Murmur, widely considered a key element of downtown Oakland’s rebirth. Art Murmur’s success has already drawn praise and enjoyed celebrity (see: New York Times, “Oakland’s Journey from Seedy to Sizzling,” May 2, 2010) as a harbinger of change in an Oakland.