TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING INCORPORATING ADAPTIVE REUSE FOR CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY Karen E. Tate Presented to the Arts and Administration Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Arts Management June 2017 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Arts and Administration faculty Dr. Eleonora Redaelli for guiding me through this research project with advice, readings, and positive encouragement, and Dr. John Fenn for introducing me to the topic of creative placemaking. I want to thank Bill Flood for his continual knowledge of the field, and for teaching and inspiring me each term in community arts courses. Lastly, I would like to thank my classmates for pushing me to always do my best. It has been an honor to complete graduate school alongside so many wonderful, intelligent, and beautiful individuals. Thank you! iv ABSTRACT Karen E. Tate Master of Science in Arts Management Arts and Administration Program, University of Oregon Title: Towards Equitable Placemaking: Incorporating Adaptive Reuse for Cultural Sustainability This capstone project aims to explore the current framework of creative placemaking and its critiques to envision equitable urban development through adaptive reuse that respects the past, honors the present, and imagines a sustainable future for U.S. cities. Following World War II, thousands of city properties were abandoned during suburbanization causing widespread blight and vacancies. Urban living has become popular again due to the rise of the Creative Class, inspiring governmental agencies and arts organizations to utilize creative placemaking as an economic development tool to revitalize city neighborhoods. But with creative placemaking comes consequences of displacement for marginalized populations due to increased property values, globalized aesthetics, and social and cultural transformations. How can the intrinsic benefits of creative placemaking be supported equally to its economic prosperity in order make placemaking both sustainable and equitable? This research proposes the incorporation of adaptive reuse into placemaking initiatives to alleviate displacement of marginalized communities following the four Pillars of Sustainability—economic, environmental, social, and most importantly, cultural. It is also important to consider our everyday lexicon and imagine new terminology that supports equitable practices, such as placekeeping instead of placemaking to provide a sense of belonging within a community. Case studies were conducted between The ARTery in Milwaukee, WI and Activating Vacancy in Dallas, TX in order to analyze equitable placemaking processes and purposes, while also examining their sustainability impact on surrounding neighborhoods. While there is no solution for gentrification yet, policy changes, attitude shifts, and economic incentives for adaptive reuse in placemaking can support sustainable communities. Keywords: creative placemaking, adaptive reuse, sustainability, culture, displacement, placekeeping, space, place v TABLE OF CONTENTS TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING ............................................................................... i PROJECT APPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ................................................ 1 Research Methodology and Design .......................................................................... 2 Overview of Research Design ........................................................................................... 3 Researcher Bias .................................................................................................................. 3 Delimitations ......................................................................................................................... 4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................. 4 Benefit and Significance of this Research ............................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO ADAPTIVE REUSE AS CULTURAL PRESERVATION ................................................... 7 Context of Vacancy and Abandonment .................................................................... 8 The Cost of Vacancy ................................................................................................ 10 Sustainable Benefits of Adaptive Reuse ................................................................ 13 Environmental Sustainability ............................................................................................ 14 Economic Sustainability .................................................................................................... 18 Social Sustainability .......................................................................................................... 19 Cultural Sustainability ....................................................................................................... 20 Recommendations for Promoting Adaptive Reuse ............................................... 23 CHAPTER THREE CREATIVE PLACEMAKING: AUTHENTICITY AND THE GRITTY REALITIES OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................. 25 Space and Place ....................................................................................................... 26 Current Framework of Creative Placemaking ........................................................ 28 Authenticity ............................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 35 vi CHAPTER FOUR CASE STUDY: THE ARTERY, MILWAUKEE, WI ........................................................... 38 Community Need ...................................................................................................... 39 Community Involvement Process ........................................................................... 40 Project Sustainability ............................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 46 CHAPTER FIVE CASE STUDY: ACTIVATING VACANCY, DALLAS, TX ................................................. 47 Community Need ...................................................................................................... 48 Project Installations and Performances ................................................................. 50 The Ark on Noah Street .................................................................................................... 50 Story Corners ..................................................................................................................... 51 Dear House ........................................................................................................................ 52 Ghost Bridges .................................................................................................................... 53 Show Hill Biz Park ............................................................................................................. 53 Tenth Street Sweep ........................................................................................................... 54 Community Involvement Process ........................................................................... 55 Project Sustainability ............................................................................................... 57 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 60 CHAPTER SIX FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................... 62 Policy Influence ........................................................................................................ 62 Sharing Power with the Community ................................................................................ 63 Affordable Housing and Assistance ................................................................................ 64 Accountability for Vacant and Abandoned Properties .................................................. 66 Placekeeping over Placemaking ............................................................................. 67 Promoting Equity through Community Engagement ............................................ 68 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 71 APPENDIX A SYLLABUS: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ............................. 78 APPENDIX B SYLLABUS: AAA 608 GLOBAL CITIES AND ELEVATED PARKS ............................. 84 TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES Creative placemaking is a useful economic development tool for governmental agencies and arts organizations to revitalize urban neighborhoods and city centers across the United States. With this, however, comes the inevitable displacement of marginalized communities—people of color and low-income populations—due to increased property values, aesthetic changes, and social and cultural shifts. These populations become priced out of their home and are forced to move either for development purposes or because they can no longer afford to reside where they have for years. Creative placemaking does a great job of breathing life into public spaces, but for whom? The economic benefits of creative placemaking are apparent and easily agreed upon across public and private sectors, but there is less emphasis on the intrinsic benefits. Not only can it strengthen local economies, spur new businesses, and attract new residents, but it can also celebrate history, preserve meaningful places, and encourage community togetherness. These social and cultural benefits are not as heavily evaluated or considered during creative placemaking planning, perpetuating the gentrification process in urban areas throughout the United States. The purpose of this research project is to analyze the current framework of creative placemaking to understand its successes and shortfalls through critique, theory, and practical implementation. Displacement is a major result of creative placemaking initiatives, but this research suggests the incorporation of adaptive reuse to help alleviate issues of displacement and dis- belonging in urban communities. In order to understand why adaptive reuse could be a TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 2 useful resource for creative placemaking, it is necessary to study the causes of abandonment and blight and its widespread effect on neighborhood development. In addition, adaptive reuse possesses its own set of policy and attitude barriers that favor demolition and replacement over rehabilitation and preservation. This research seeks to examine these current policies and identify successful strategies to promoting adaptive reuse and ultimately, sustainability. Equitable placemaking is a difficult task because it requires cultural competency and sustainable goals in the short-, medium-, and long-term. This research looks at sustainable goals for creative placemaking and adaptive reuse following the Four Pillars of Sustainability—economic, environmental, social, and cultural. Since I hope to uncover suggestions for preventing displacement of marginalized communities as a result of creative placemaking projects, I want to put a particular emphasis on cultural sustainability achieved through adaptive reuse. Economic and environmental benefits are quantifiable and fairly standard across the United States, but the social and cultural aspects are qualitative and more nuanced in their geographic location and personal history. A creative placemaking project in Boston should not look the same as one in Denver because of the different demographic makeup, architectural aesthetics, and community goals. Adaptive reuse can help achieve revitalization without compromising locality, creating equitable places of belonging. Research Methodology and Design I chose an interpretivist and constructivist strategy of inquiry to inform my data collection techniques and compile recommendations. It was important to approach my research TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 3 from an interpretivist perspective in order to critique creative placemaking from a holistic standpoint. A constructivist perspective was also utilized because my own personal critique and observations of creative placemaking are present in this study to challenge the current definition of creative placemaking and generate further interest in the topic. Overview of Research Design This capstone research project is made up of two literature reviews and two case studies. Literature reviews focus on adaptive reuse and creative placemaking, respectively, from an international perspective to contextualize the field of study and understand theory related to these topics. Including case studies was important since not many examples of adaptive reuse creative placemaking projects exist that are not cultural districts. The two case studies I chose are not intended to be comparative, but rather to identify equitable placemaking projects and provide insight into current sustainable practices. Researcher Bias I have participated in creative placemaking planning and implementation with City of Eugene Cultural Services, and community engagement strategies with Project for Public Spaces in relation to a creative placemaking initiative in Eugene, Oregon. My own personal experience with creative placemaking has influenced my critique of the method. I chose the constructivist perspective to critique creative placemaking informed by my own observations and experience, supported by materials from professionals and practitioners in the field. I am very passionate about equitable public space and TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 4 community sustainability through creative placemaking and I hope this research can inspire or inform others about the reality of placemaking. Delimitations For the purposes of this study I have chosen to conduct my literature reviews from an international perspective since other countries are ahead in research around adaptive reuse and cultural sustainability. Part of this research addresses globalization and homogenized aesthetics, making it necessary to research creative placemaking across global cities. I chose to focus on case studies within the urban United States because of my own citizenship and for the sake of analyzing recognizable governmental structures, policies, and regional characteristics. Limitations This research is limited by my choice to collect and analyze data through what is available publicly for both of my literature reviews and both case studies. Because I did not conduct any surveys or interviews, the information presented in this research is limited in its depth. Only two case studies were chosen because few projects met my selection criteria, and because of time limitations in producing my research. I did not visit case study project sites, limiting my spatial understanding to what I can observe from images, published articles, and videos. Local governments and arts organizations operate differently, and creative placemaking projects can vary greatly depending on their size, purpose, and operating factors. Therefore, it is important to note that findings and recommendations might not be applicable to all projects or locations. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 5 Data Collection Techniques This qualitative research study was conducted as a capstone project to collect and analyze data to answer my research questions. These methods include case studies, literature review, and graduate coursework to explore both theoretical and practical perspectives in relation to my research topic. Capstone projects require enrollment in two graduate-level courses to broaden, deepen, or supplement your research topic. I chose to take AAD 551 Community Cultural Development with Bill Flood, instructor for the Arts and Administration program at University of Oregon, and AAA 608 Global Cities and Elevated Parks with Christoph Lindner, Dean of the School of Architecture & Allied Arts at University of Oregon. These courses provided international readings and resources used to inform each literature review in addition to document analysis of other web and print materials. Case studies were selected for study if they met the following criteria: 1) Located in metropolitan areas of the United States, 2) Incorporated adaptive reuse of materials or structure in their project(s), 3) Served marginalized populations, 4) Project elements were informed, created, or built by community members, and 5) Project addressed all Four Pillars of Sustainability. Case study information was collected primarily through online publications and resources such as magazine and newspaper articles, reports, blog posts, social media pages, organization websites, radio interviews, and video. It was important to identify projects that were located in metropolitan areas within the United States, defined by The United States Census Bureau (2017) as “a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core.” For the purposes of TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 6 this research, it is important to give particular emphasis on cities with industrial pasts for the increased likelihood of incorporating adaptive reuse into creative placemaking projects. Because of my interest in creative placemaking as a displacement agent, it was also important to focus on cities that also have majority minority populations, or a population makeup with less than 50% non-Hispanic whites. Since this research is also focused on the adaptive reuse and sustainability of materials involved in creative placemaking projects, it was necessary to find initiatives that included these aspects without the goal of becoming an arts and cultural district. Following these criteria, I chose the case study examples of The ARTery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Activating Vacancy in Dallas, Texas. Each project was awarded federal granting money, featured work with a nonprofit organization, a neighborhood organization, and partnered with private sector businesses to achieve their development goals. Because of these similarities, it will be necessary to analyze the local factors that influence creative placemaking processes and identify key community involvement strategies to minimize displacement. Benefit and Significance of this Research The purpose of this research is to investigate and critique the current framework of creative placemaking to promote equitable practices through adaptive reuse that will alleviate displacement amongst marginalized communities. Creative placemaking has become incredibly popular over the last decade because of its success in revitalizing downtown spaces and neighborhoods. More and more governments, organizations, and individuals are looking towards this method, so this research seeks to inform those who TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 7 might want to utilize creative placemaking in their community with policy, engagement, design, and evaluation recommendations involving adaptive reuse. There is no solution to gentrification yet, but these research findings aim to generate awareness of the issue and attempt to slow or prevent displacement all together. This research offers case study examples of equitable placemaking that I hope can serve as inspiration and a practical point of departure for future projects. I hope this research can advocate for sustainable, equitable practices that challenge current attitudes and broaden the potential for creative placemaking initiatives. CHAPTER TWO ADAPTIVE REUSE AS CULTURAL PRESERVATION It wasn’t until the 19th century that architects and planners began to seriously consider architectural restoration as a means of preservation. Until this time, historical civilizations and urban centers sought to rebuild and replace decaying buildings rather than rehabilitate them for future use. A founding father of the restoration and ultimately historical preservation movement, Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1875), introduced this concept and theorized that “To restore a building is not to preserve it, to repair, or rebuild it; it is to reinstate it in a condition of completeness which could never have existed at any given time” (p. 9). Viollet-Le-Duc advocated for restoration of historic buildings and monuments during the 19th century for many of the same reasons we advocate for preservation today—pride of place, recognition of artistic work, and respect for time and labor. After World War II many cities, especially in the United States, experienced rapid suburbanization and left urban areas in disarray that led to mass TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 8 population shifts, blight, and resource distribution. In order to revitalize suffering urban centers, many cities and private organizations have been looking towards the adaptive reuse of infrastructure to improve aesthetics and preserve historical character while also bringing back jobs, residencies, and economic activity. The Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage (2004) defines adaptive reuse as “a process that changes a disused or ineffective item into a new item that can be used for a different purpose” (p. 3). This goes beyond just preserving the building façade so that a physical purpose may be fulfilled. Adaptive reuse should understand the history of a site and its immediate surroundings so that the environmental, social, and economic benefits are maximized and fitting to its locale. The Australian DEH (2004) stresses this importance, noting that “The most successful built heritage adaptive reuse projects are those that best respect and retain the building’s heritage significance and add a contemporary layer that provides for the future” (p. 3). Adaptive reuse can preserve unique city character by contributing to neighborhood authenticity and sense of place, address concerns of urban sprawl and land usage, and improve overall safety and wellbeing in urban areas. This literature review seeks to discover how adaptive reuse is currently being implemented in American cities and provide recommendations for policy change and attitude shifts. Context of Vacancy and Abandonment During the mid 20th century suburbanization took hold of the United States and resulted in massive population shifts from metropolitan cores to city periphery. Several factors contributed to this process spanning from pre-war decades to the post-war Golden Age. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 9 Prior to the 1900s, dense city living was a necessity due to current transportation models and the location of industrial jobs. As the automobile developed, interstates were constructed, jobs became decentralized and incomes rose, populations began to migrate towards the suburbs in order to avoid crime and low-quality living in metropolitan downtowns. In addition, African Americans began to migrate to industrial cities in the Northeast and Midwest, causing a reaction from White city dwellers who moved to the suburbs to achieve cultural homogenization. According to Boustan (2010), “Between 1940 and 1970, four million black migrants left the South, increasing the black population share in northern and western cities from 4% in 1940 to 16% in 1970. Over the same period, the median nonsouthern city lost 10% of its white population” (p. 418). Suburbanization was not only influenced by economic factors, but also social and cultural agents as well, leading to urban infrastructure abandonment and vacancies across the United States. The National Vacant Properties Campaign (NVPC) (2005) defines vacancy as “residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and vacant lots that exhibit one of both of the following traits: • The site poses a threat to public safety (meeting the definition of a public nuisance), or • The owners or managers neglect the fundamental duties of property ownership (e.g., they fail to pay taxes or utility bills, default on mortgages, or carry liens against the property), (p. 1).” Vacant properties cause widespread problems that drain city resources, create headaches and financial problems for property owners, and negatively impact TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 10 surrounding communities both economically and socially due to visible blight. Cities with an industrial past are victims of the highest rate of vacancy across the United States. NVPC (2005) reports that “The Brookings Institution found that in 60 cities with populations over 100,000, there are an average of two vacant buildings for every 1,000 residents” (p. 2). Vacancies are highest in cities such as Baltimore and Detroit, but spreading to the West at a rapid rate. It is vital for cities to address mass vacancies and the problems they cause because the longer they remain, the higher the price of rehabilitation and occupancy becomes. The Cost of Vacancy Once a property owner decides to abandon their property the ownership transfers to city governments, forcing them to use resources to clean-up and maintain these buildings or lots. Vacant properties are a playground for criminal activity, fires, illegal occupation, and structural neglect or destruction. Blight creates a snowball effect for other properties, similar to the Broken Window Theory posed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, stating “If the first broken window in a building is not repaired, then people who like breaking windows will assume that no one cares about the building and more windows will be broken…” (NVPC, 2005, p. 4). Upkeep of a physical environment is important because it represents a neighborhood’s overall condition and ultimately impacts social and economic factors. Without satisfactory infrastructure, new residents and businesses will not invest in an area due to negative perception and sometimes even fear of crime. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2014) indicate that “foreclosure has no effect on crime; however, after a TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 11 property becomes vacant, the rate of violent crime within 250 feet of the property is 15% higher than the rate in the area between 250 and 353 feet from the property.” Vacant properties are particularly linked to arson and accidental fires. The U.S. Fire Administration estimates that “37 percent of these fires were intentionally set and that 45 deaths, 225 injuries, and $900 million in property damage result from these fires each year” (HUD, 2014). Visible upkeep and care perpetuates community self-policing that is lost when buildings become abandoned. If community members notice that owners do not care about their property, then they will adopt this behavior as well. Municipalities are further implicated with lost tax revenue from property sales after ownership transference takes place. Typically, cities will auction off vacant properties to cover the tax lien, but this is not guaranteed and can cause cities to lose out on valuable tax money. Even if taxes are being paid on vacant properties, the city is still disadvantaged. The NVPC (2005) found that “In St. Paul, a vacant lot produces $1,148 in property taxes over 20 years; an unrenovated but inhabited home generates $5,650, and a rehabilitated property generates $13,145” (p. 8). Ultimately, the economic impact will spread like a disease to surrounding properties. HUD (2014) reports that “in the Cleveland area, being within 500 feet of a vacant property depresses the sale price of a nondistressed home by 1.7 percent in low-poverty areas and 2.1 percent in medium-poverty areas,” with further indications of this effect over time studied in Baltimore, noting that “A study of Baltimore finds that this impact is confined to within 250 feet of properties that have been abandoned for less than 3 years; after 3 years, however, the impact can extend as far as 1,500 feet (although at a smaller magnitude.” TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 12 Cities and property owners alike should invest in adaptive reuse processes for mutual financial benefit. With more property taxes coming in, cities can invest in other ventures without wasting valuable resources on title acquisition and maintenance, and property owners can manage successful, thriving buildings that contribute to overall wellbeing. If businesses and residents posed interest in occupying vacant structures they would be faced with a variety of obstacles from public policy, code and zoning laws, financial strains, and potentially the community. To change the use of a vacant structure, especially for occupancy, requires a lengthy submittal process to local government compliant with their established rules and regulations. A variance can be approved by a zoning board upon consent from surrounding property owners, allowing for an individual waiver. Zoning laws vary between cities, counties, and states, and tend to be strict, making adaptive reuse projects difficult to achieve. In addition, many historical buildings that are now vacant possess outdated electrical, structural, or heating and cooling systems, or dangerous materials that pose a health risk such as the presence of asbestos. Rehabilitation provides an opportunity for these properties to modernize their systems to meet contemporary code requirements, but could be costly and time-consuming depending on the system. Sometimes structural or spatial layout is ineffective enough to prevent functional adaptive reuse. Bullen & Love (2011) point out that “The current layout of a building may also be inappropriate for any change of use, particularly if it contains a large number of columns or internal partition walls” (p. 39). It is important to note that not all vacant properties are ideal for adaptive reuse, and limitations are highly individualized depending on the current property condition and project function. Flexibility is required to some extent, making vacant industrial buildings TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 13 ideal for adaptive reuse because of open floor plan. Bullen & Love (2011) assures that “Any shortfalls should, however, be balanced against potential gains in social value from adaptive re-use” (p. 39). Sustainable Benefits of Adaptive Reuse Rather than viewing vacant properties as obstacles or liabilities, public and private sectors should recognize these spaces as opportunities for breathing new life into historical structures. Recently, adaptive reuse has increased in popularity in accordance of global efforts towards sustainability and green design. While more difficult than standard recyclables such as bottles and cans, adaptive reuse can reduce, reuse, and recycle construction materials. Langston (2008) proposes that “adaptive reuse needs to be planned at the outset, and if this is done wisely and routinely, it will provide a means of realizing sustainability objectives without reducing investment levels or economic viability for the industry. In fact, adaptive reuse in the future of the construction industry” (p. 10). The concept of sustainability has broadened from ecological concerns over the last couple of decades, to recognizing that this can be applied to all aspects of life. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (2017) defines the practice as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” By staying mindful of future implications caused by construction and destruction, architectural projects can play a vital role in preserving our planet’s resources with adaptive reuse. Sustainable development can be tied to the success of economic development, social justice, and ecological responsibility, all of which can be achieved through adaptive reuse. Hawkes (2001) TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 14 proposed the addition of a fourth key principle of sustainable development—culture— arguing that “A sustainable society depends upon a sustainable culture. If a society’s culture disintegrates, so will everything else” (p. 12). This paper will argue the benefits of adaptive reuse following these Four Pillars of Sustainability: environmental, economic, social, and cultural sustainability. Figure: New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Cultural well- being and local government, Report 1, 2006; Retrieved from Duxbury, N., Gillette, E., Pepper, K. (2007, p. 2). Environmental Sustainability With rapid resource depletion and climate change looming over our planet’s future, adaptive reuse can provide large-scale sustainability impacts. The cost of continual demolition and construction is casting aside usable materials for the sake of aesthetic improvement. “In 2001, new building accounted for about 40 percent of annual energy and raw materials consumption, 25 percent of wood harvest, 16 percent of fresh water supplies, 44 percent of landfill, 45 percent of carbon dioxide production and up to half of the total greenhouse commissions from industrialised countries” according to the TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 15 Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage (2004, p. 4). By reusing buildings, new materials would not need to be sourced, harvested, and transported since existing structural elements are already in place, also known as embodied energy. Instead, these materials can be repaired and ultimately preserved. The Australian Greenhouse Office notes that “the reuse of building materials usually involves a saving of approximately 95 percent of embodied energy that would otherwise be wasted” (DEH, 2004, p. 4). Ignoring the massive benefits of adaptive reuse will continue to increase the adverse effects of infrastructure construction. Older buildings incorporated passive design strategies in their envelope before heating and cooling or electricity were available, relying on natural light to perform these functions. “Passive design strategies improve energy consumption by designing a building that responds to the environment, thus making it possible to achieve high interior environmental quality and low-energy demand at the same time (Hootman, 2012, in Aksamija, 2016, p. 189). Industrial buildings especially possess passive design strategies due to large windows and quality materials that can withstand natural wear and tear. Operating energy will vary depending on building type and decade of original construction. “For example, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) demonstrates that commercial buildings constructed before 1920 use less energy, per square foot, than buildings from any other decade of construction” (Preservation Green Lab, 2016, p. 18). Electrical lighting, heating, and ventilation make up the majority of operating energy output, all of which can be manipulated for minimal consumption through passive design or rehabilitation. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 16 Preservation Green Lab initiated a Life Cycle Assessment approach to identify the benefits and quantifiable savings of building reuse. They discovered three key findings after analyzing multiple building typologies in Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Portland: • “Building reuse almost always yields fewer environmental impacts that new construction when comparing buildings of similar size and functionality. • Reuse of buildings with an average level of energy performance consistently offers immediate climate change impact reductions compared to more energy efficient new construction. • Materials matter: The quantity and type of materials used in a building renovation can reduce, or even negate, the benefits of reuse” (p. 61). Life cycle of a building is an important consideration when trying to determining whether or not adaptive reuse in appropriate in an individualized situation. Langston (2008) identifies this as obsolescence, saying that “Eventually, buildings can become inappropriate for their original purpose due to obsolescence, or can become redundant due to change in demand for their service” (p. 2). Obsolescence can be attributed to several factors that dictate a property’s overall viability—physical, economic, functional, technological, social, legal, or political obsolescence (Langston, 2008, p. 2). Reuse can extend a building’s overall life cycle and could help to prevent other attributes that can lead to obsolescence. The Vacant Property Revitalization Cycle includes four stages: stabilization, rehabilitation resources, property transfer or demolition, and long term revitalization and TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 17 prevention. Stabilization strategies can be carried out by local governments to reduce unhealthy conditions caused by vacancies. Hazardous chemicals, materials, or decay could cause public health issues, elevating the property from a vacancy to a full-fledged public nuisance. After stabilization has been achieved, steps for rehabilitating the site can be carried forward by public or private parties through financial help, educational programs, or permitting assistance to name a few. Even though this a last resort for cities, property transfer or ultimately demolition could prevent widespread negative effects of vacancies from expanding further. Demolition is costlier than rehabilitation, making property transfer the favorable option for environmental impact and safety. The last stage of the Revitalization Cycle is to promote long-term revitalization policies and prevention programs for property owners, governmental agencies, and neighborhood organizations. One aspect of this could include a structural inventory of vacant properties in an area so that emerging blight and continual neglect can be documented to aid with the reuse process. Prevention rests heavily in the policy arena. “For example, aggressive code enforcement sweeps and slumlord task forces that target owners and properties with housing code violations could prevent borderline buildings from becoming vacant” writes Schilling (2002, p. 22), but truthfully states that “Unfortunately, few cities have sufficient resources to design and implement such programs in a meaningful way.” When it comes to adaptive reuse, this method is more environmentally sustainable that demolition. Framing vacant properties and structures as an opportunity can adopt adaptive reuse into our global lexicon. Research on the environmental TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 18 benefits of reuse and rehabilitation has become more prevalent, making the case for adaptive reuse over new construction on a global scale. Economic Sustainability According to the National Vacant Properties Campaign (2005), “An examination of the St. Paul, Minnesota budget for maintenance and security costs associated with vacant buildings revealed that while demolition saves $4,697, the rehabilitation of a vacant building will save an estimated $7,141 in maintenance costs over a twenty-year period” (p. 6). It is common for vacant properties to become delinquent and transferred to the city or county for ownership. From there, these municipalities attempt to sell the property to other buyers at an extremely low cost that causes overall financial loss. Vacant properties also decrease surrounding property values even if those properties are well-maintained. “In a 2001 study, researchers from Philadelphia found that houses within 150 feet of a vacant or abandoned property experienced a net loss of $7,627 in value. Properties within 150 to 300 feet experienced a loss of $6,819 and those within 300 to 450 feet experienced a loss of $3,542,” (NVPC, 2005, p. 9). Rehabilitating and maintaining these properties can prevent unnecessary and detrimental value decreases in city neighborhoods. Even though the immediate costs of adaptive reuse might be more expensive than demolition, rehabilitation will end up costing less in the long-run. Additionally, adaptive reuse creates jobs, increases property value, provides tax revenue, and supports local economic activity. There are also cost savings when it comes to reuse since historical materials require less energy consumption than contemporary construction materials. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 19 Social Sustainability Architecture has historically provided civilizations with useful infrastructure that also represents their people and belief systems. Buildings provide us a snapshot of time that can be present in our communities for decades, or even centuries. Architectural permanence and sustainability are interrelated. Sustainability relies upon some concept of permanence even though permanence in one stage is impossible to achieve. Tuan (1979) addresses this duality, observing that “Permanence is an important element in the idea of place. Things and objects endure and are dependable in ways that human beings, with their biological weaknesses and shifting moods, do not endure and are not dependable” (p. 140). Preference of demolition and replacement prevents existing infrastructure from delivering its object permanence and therefore social dependability to surrounding communities. “In the absence of the right people, things and places are quickly drained of meaning so that their lastingness is an irritation rather than a comfort” continues Tuan (1979, p. 140). This quote summarizes the need of social sustainability to preserve meaning in our qualitative understanding of place. Our city infrastructure functions as architectural palimpsest, able to be re-imagined according to our societal needs and wants. Langston (2008) identifies this as social obsolescence, which “can be measured by the relationship between building function and the marketplace” (p. 2). Adaptive reuse can help to alleviate obsolescence by celebrating architectural permanence while providing a spatial solution for our rapidly evolving needs. Architecture and spatial layout plays an important role in curating the human experience. Architecture can physically shape how people interact with space and each other while also evoking a sense of belonging, or dis-belonging. Buildings and public TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 20 space make it obvious when certain populations are not welcome through material usage, signage, location, function, or accessibility. A corporate skyscraper, for example, is less likely to make impoverished communities feel welcome in their space. Security guards, metal detectors, and grandiose decorations all convey an outward appearance of exclusivity. Older buildings on the other hand are more relatable to human scale and contribute to a level of comfort that is ignored in generic urban architecture. Langston (2008) supports the social benefits of adaptive reuse, arguing “They can retain attractive streetscapes, add character and provide status and image to an organization through the use of massive and highly crafted materials” (p. 9). Recognizable storefronts and regional materials create a sense of community among residents and business owners, providing that sense of belonging that cultivates social capital. According to Hawkes (2001), “Our social memory and our repositories of insight and understanding are essential elements to our sense of belonging. Without a sense of past, we are adrift in an endless present” (p. 30). Adaptive reuse preserves historical aesthetics that contribute to our social comfortability when interacting with a city streetscape. Social sustainability requires diversity and ownership of place to develop a thriving urban community. If this can be achieved, then localized cultural capital can emerge. Cultural Sustainability Cultural sustainability has only recently been adopted into our holistic framework of sustainable development. Identifying a common definition of “culture” is a barrier that prevents ease of translation and understanding across regions and countries. Culture is very much rooted in subjective, personal experiences defined by geographic, racial, TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 21 religious, and socio-economic status that make defining and applying culture difficult. Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire developed “culture circles” that engaged participants in dialogue surrounding the concept of culture. Freire’s (1974) conviction that “the role of man was not only to be in the world, but to engage in relations with the world—that through acts of creation and re-creation, man makes cultural reality and thereby adds to the natural world, which he did not make” (p. 41), indicating that culture can be constituted as anything man-made, whether those are tangible or intangible contributions. Arlene Goldbard (2006) recognizes these intangible aspects in her definition, saying that “Culture in its broadest, anthropological sense includes all that is fabricated, endowed, designed, articulated, conceived or directed by human beings, as opposed to what is given in nature. Culture includes both material elements (buildings, artifacts, etc.) and immaterial ones (ideology, value systems, languages)” (p. 244). Architecture has historically provided a visual representation of cultural character and technological advancement, with many monuments and buildings recognized as cultural sites of importance around the world. Adaptive reuse can play a critical role in internal and external cultural sustainability by linking us to our past and encouraging us to look towards our future. Several aspects play into the process of cultural sustainability to ensure that the urban renewal process brought on by adaptive reuse does not also remove populations. Globalization has enabled us to share information and communicate with each other in an instant, but has also begun to erase cultural identity as our urban and suburban architecture becomes more homogenous and generic for the sake of maximizing profit. Intention to reuse abandoned infrastructure presents opportunities for heritage TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 22 preservation, rooted in preserving cultural heritage sites, practices, and infrastructure from outside influences, cultural tourism, and revitalizing and re-using heritage buildings for cultural facilities (Duxbury, Gillette, & Pepper, 2007, p. 7). They build on this argument linking cultural sustainability to “the recovery and protection of cultural health, history, and the culture of indigenous knowledge in society. It is linked to previous traditional practices through celebrating local and regional histories and passing down values to future generations” (p. 7). Homogeneity is bland, rigid, and most of all, exclusionary. A lack in cultural diversity leads to a lack in cosmopolitan, self-sufficient economic opportunities that could be provided with mixed-use structures because “It is this social diversity, and not just the diversity of buildings and uses, that gives the city its soul” (Zukin, 2014, p. 31). Even though it does not generate quantitative data that is easily measurable unlike economic and environmental sustainability, cultural sustainability administers intangible wellbeing that strengthens communities. Hawkes (2001) concludes “If it is accepted that cultural vitality is as essential to a sustainable and healthy society as social equity, environmental responsibility and economic viability and that culture resides in all human endeavor, then we need a way to ensure that all public activity is evaluated from a cultural perspective” (p. 32). To do this, all four Pillars of Sustainability must work in tandem to promote sustainable communities by enacting policy support systems. By examining communities and sustainable practices as a whole rather than through silos, social and cultural justice will flourish. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 23 Recommendations for Promoting Adaptive Reuse Adaptive reuse offers a multitude of sustainable benefits that should be capitalized upon by public and private sectors alike. Local governmental agencies bear the most potential for incentivizing adaptive reuse through policy changes. Some national standards have been established in regards to historic preservation, but adaptive reuse is a trickier challenge because of its case-by-case needs and zoning law obstacles that are governed at a local level. By incentivizing reuse through policy, cities could decrease their carbon footprint and buoy traditionally disenfranchised populations. First steps include relaxing zoning regulations and variance application processes so that rehabilitation timelines could be expedited and save on city resources. Many modern zoning codes do not allow for mixed-use neighborhoods so that property value can be protected in local government. Zoning laws exist to prevent the public from any safety or health concerns, but vacancy itself is causing public health issues. Older buildings are likely not in compliance with contemporary code standards of safety and accessibility. Bringing these properties up to code can be an expensive and time-consuming expenditure, and adopting flexible code can help to find alternative options for structural safety and ADA use. Cantrell (2005) suggests the use of form-based codes, which “focuses on form, rather than use, and pays particular attention to how a building envelope addresses the street” (p. 14). Both of these barriers currently prevent many developers from renovating older buildings because zoning and code compliance eats up financial resources that would decrease profit margin. Bullen & Love (2011) identified that the “extent of the financial resources and technical resources needed to solve these TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 24 problems may preclude adopting renovation, leaving demolition as the only viable solution” (p. 41). Little data is available for identifying vacant properties and evaluating their impact on overall neighborhood health. Local governments could invest resources in collecting this information to be available as a public resource that also aids developers in finding sites for rehabilitation. Assessing current status can at least provide a baseline for identifying changes over time. From there, community data can be collected and sustainable metrics can be developed to analyze property potential and identify sites of promise. Having an inventory on hand can provide resources for public and private sectors to find unused buildings and develop those rather than investing in new construction. Federal tax credits serve as quantifiable benefits that could encourage reuse by offering developers a chance to save money on taxes owed. Established in 1976, the Tax Reform Act offers tax break deals for preserving historic buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. States could also adopt tax credits for historic preservation and rehabilitation. State credits can offer higher amounts and focus on strengthening the local economy by offering low interest loan options, grants, and tax credits. In addition, revolving funds are also useful as a preservation and revitalization tool. These funds can be accessed by agencies to aid in adaptive reuse processes and are replenished by “proceeds from sales, loan repayments, or donations” (Cantrell, 2005, p. 31). Many incentives exist to encourage adaptive reuse, but majority of barriers are perceived and need to undergo an attitude shift towards sustainability and reuse potential for revitalizing cities. This is a global need to foster sustainable practices in the TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 25 construction, planning, and architectural design industries. Adaptive reuse can decrease carbon footprint, save on resources, promote cultural equity, and, “if this is done wisely and routinely, it will provide a means of realizing sustainability objectives without reducing investment levels or economic viability for the industry, “(Langston, 2008, p. 9). Adaptive reuse is a holistic method to preserving the past, addressing present needs, and innovating for the future. Even though there is still much policy work to be done for implementing adaptive reuse in the United States, our collective focus on sustainability is driving development to also consider sustainable alternatives for economic, environmental, social, and cultural prosperity. CHAPTER THREE CREATIVE PLACEMAKING: AUTHENTICITY AND THE GRITTY REALITIES OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT There has been a lot of interest in the arts and culture field around the topic of creative placemaking, a revitalization tool that breathes vibrancy into public spaces. industrial urban infrastructure has crumbled as a result of the rapid suburbanization following World War II, which left our cities abandoned with spatial deficiencies. The rise of Richard Florida’s Creative Class made urban dwelling trendy again, increasing the demand for comfortable residential livelihood, commercial activity, and sociable public spaces. According to Markusen & Gadwa (2010), creative placemaking enables communities to “strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city or region around arts and cultural activities” (p. 3), while Borrup (2006) identifies creative placemaking simply as “the elevation of space to the TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 26 level of ‘place’” (p. 103). Both of these definitions ignore cultural history or context, raising a red flag that creative placemakers are more concerned with the physical environment, or aesthetics of space, over the authenticity of sense of place. This therefore equates creative placemaking to any other urban development strategy even though it is disguised as a cuddly, arts-based collaborative process. Space and Place Before we can understand the complexities of decades-old issues surrounding urban development, it is necessary to unpack the relationship between space and place. “‘Space’ is more abstract than ‘place.’ What begins as undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value” (Tuan, 1977, p. 6). These two experiences cannot exist without each other, for we cannot assign value to place without comparing it against the insincere qualities of space. But how can we as humans accurately categorize what is space, and what is place, and why are we naturally inclined to do so? Our competitive, primal nature fed by Neoliberal renewal heightens our sense of territory. Tuan (1977) expands upon this argument, noting that “Spaces are marked off and defended against intruders. Places are centers of felt value where biological needs, such as those for food, water, rest, and procreation, are satisfied” (p. 4). Creative placemaking aims to cultivate a sense of place in communities that increases livability, promotes ownership, builds cross-sector relationships, all while improving neighborhood aesthetics and safety. Bedoya (2013) poses that “Placemaking in city/neighborhood spaces enacts identity and activities that allow personal memories, TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 27 cultural histories, imagination, and feelings to enliven the sense of ‘belonging’ through human and spatial relationships. But a political understanding of who is in and who is out is also central to civic vitality.” Therefore, how are politicized aesthetics being employed in these places to cultivate belonging or dis-belonging? The Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC), led by Executive Director Roberto Bedoya, published a new funding and project initiative around the philosophy of place. Their understanding of place lies within the aspects that shape spaces and communities to begin with—People, Land, Arts, Culture, and Engagement—to form a new concept of PLACE. TPAC (2013) identified that “A particular concern of the PLACE Initiative is advancing tolerance, cross-cultural understanding, and civil society through arts projects focused on engagement and collaboration” (p. 4). With this definition, TPAC is incorporating awareness that place is more than a physical environment for occupation. Space can exist in the realm of singular physicality, but place transcends our basic senses. As humans, our memories are linked to our senses to remember smells, textures, sounds, tastes, and sights of being in a place. Place is subjective and more than a location, it “incarnates the experiences and aspirations of a people” (Tuan, 1977, p. 387), and some can experience alienation if they do not feel as if they belong. Sense of place occurs through interaction with the surrounding environment. Hashemnezhad, Heidari, & Hoseini (2013) propose that “In general, interaction between humans and places is in three dimensions: Cognitive, behavioral, and emotional” (p. 6), which influence our outward perception, spatial relationships, and attachment to place. It is essential to incorporate these dimensions into creative placemaking as a collective whole rather than individual parts in order to curate a purposeful sense of place. The TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 28 PLACE initiative at TPAC (2013) frames this collective effort as “not simply the collegial ‘we’ of ‘me and my friends,’ but the neighborly ‘we’” (p. 7), that leads to belonging by equalizing our current and future places. Current Framework of Creative Placemaking Creative placemaking has been primarily defined and influenced by the National Endowment for the Arts over the past decade, with current policies and processes established in Markusen & Gadwa’s 2010 white paper. Their research provided a framework for intergovernmental involvement, cross-sector partnerships, and local leadership to implement creative placemaking as a motivator for economic health. The National Endowment for the Arts is primarily a creative placemaking leader through their Our Town grant program that “supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core” (NEA, Our Town). Our Town grants support two different categories of initiatives— arts engagement, cultural planning, and design projects that require a partnership between a nonprofit and a local governmental agency, and projects that build knowledge about creative placemaking and require a matching grant. The granting framework is flexible, because “Even though the NEA provides language and patterns, there is a lot of freedom in the possible initiatives that could be funded and each community has a lot of wiggle room in coming up with the project that better fits the needs of the place and better express the local arts and culture,” (Redaelli, 2016, p. 8). ArtPlace America is another large granting agency that supports nationwide creative placemaking initiatives. As an agency made up of multiple partnering organizations, TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 29 they have the financial abilities to sustain a National Creative Placemaking Fund that awarded a total of $10 million dollars in 2015 (Redaelli, 2016, p. 9). Both Our Town and ArtPlace America possess different models for data collection and evaluation for creative placemaking initiatives, and each grant requires measurement of what are deemed “fuzzy” indicators. Fuzzy indicators and vibrancy are difficult to quantify because they are open to interpretation, similar to sense of place. Research and resources from the NEA and ArtPlace have been published to help guide evaluation but are still vague. Fuzzy concepts and tools can work in theory by spurring interest and passion for the project itself, “But in order for those tools to really come alive in a grantmaking context, they have to be grounded in a clear and rigorous conceptual frame for the how the specific funded activities are going to make a difference, and then integrated into the actual process for selecting grant recipients,” (Moss, 2012). Moss continued to explore the methods for measuring outcomes, discovering four problems that come with relying on fuzzy concepts: difficulty to choose projects that are likely to be most effective, inability to analyze why some projects work and others do not, economics are complex and the arts only play an indirect role in overall health, and avoids gentrification issues that arise as a result of creative placemaking. Nicodemus (2013) also recognizes the lack of concern over displacement because our current fuzzy concepts are “vague and supports development and gentrification over social equity” (p. 214). In addition to the continual development of evaluative processes, it is also necessary to re-imagine a framework for creative placemaking that prioritizes people and displacement over economics and spatial development. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 30 Re-Framing Creative Placemaking Creative placemaking is a culprit of curating cultural destinations as a marketing approach to attract the consumerist Creative Class and increase economic profit. Hipsters and yuppies, typical members of the white Creative Class, fetishize gritty, bohemian flair as long as it is safely contained within comfortable aesthetics that reek of Urban Outfitters appropriation and artistic plagiarism. Starowitz & Cole (2015) more appropriately deem creative placemaking as placetaking, asserting that “The tourist industry or place-marketing approach is to commercialize the ‘lure of the local’ in our common-dwelling neighborhoods and communities. It should be clear that these aesthetics and exploitative practices can lead to domestic and urban colonialism in a way that propels cultural, social, and economic displacement.” Without strong policy influence, developers, city officials, and even arts organizations are swooping in on the opportunity to re-imagine economic benefit through urban revitalization by tying it up with a pretty creative placemaking bow that boasts grassroots involvement and a people-centric approach. In practice, creative placemaking tends to assist in the gentrification process that is homogenizing our cities and displacing marginalized communities. “’Creative Placemaking’ conceals an assertation that whichever environment is ‘getting the treatment’ is not a place that has value (either physically or in terms of its history, cultural roots and so on)” (Starowitz & Cole, 2015). This is usually arranged by the white, upper-class populations in power, privileged to enact their own perspective of cultural amenities in urban neighborhoods across the United States. While creative placemaking provides aspects of sustainable infrastructure renewal through adaptive reuse, this is not a sustainable model for cultural and social TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 31 development. What can architects, city planners, arts managers, local business owners, and community leaders do to ensure equitable development in our neighborhoods? No perfect solution exists yet, but as cities continue to expand and supergentrification becomes the new normal, artists, community groups, and policymakers need to embrace a new framework for equitable urban development that provide flexible, inclusive places representative of diverse histories. “A universal rhetoric of upscale growth, based on both the economic power of capital and the state and the cultural power of the media and consumer tastes, is driving these changes and exposing a conflict between city dwellers’ desire for authentic origins—a traditional, mythical desire for roots—and their new beginnings: the continuous reinvention of communities” (Zukin, 2010, p. 2). Most notable in this quote by Zukin is the mention of reinventing communities instead of improving communities. Reinvention takes place when the white spatial imaginary is forced in pre-existing places, bringing in a Starbucks, boutiques, and beergardens to attract new consumer activity and high-priced residencies. These “improvements” do not attempt to even address the social and cultural conditions that come with neighborhood blight. Aesthetic improvement is the number one goal so the Creative Class can boast their hipster status in a place that waves a false flag of authenticity. “In the gentrified and hipster neighborhoods that have become models of urban experience since then, authenticity is a consciously chosen lifestyle and a performance, and a means of displacement as well” says Zukin (2010, p. 4). Re-framing our strategies as creative placekeeping can help to alleviate the associated fear of displacement and cultural erasure brought on by creative placemaking. Placekeeping is TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 32 “not just preserving the façade of the building but also keeping the cultural memories associated with locale alive, keeping the tree once planted in the memory of a loved one lost in a war and keeping the tenants who have raised their family in an apartment” (Bedoya, 2014). This is true authenticity built by experiences over time. Roberto Bedoya also mentions the key point that has been ignored by definitions of creative placemaking—sustaining affordable housing for tenants. These are the people who shaped the unique character of a neighborhood from the beginning with mom and pop shops, street corner performances, and community resourcefulness that are being forced out by the white spatial imaginary, what Bedoya describes as “an antiseptic ethos that effectively deemed being poor and of color as civic imperfections to be expunged” (2014). Awareness of spatial, social, and cultural justice coincide to make creative placekeeping, a model that is “distinct from the imaginary imposed by the monetization of neighborhoods, a prevailing objective in urban development” (Bedoya, 2014). Edward Relph (1976) identifies different spatial experiences to understand the notion of place—those that are immediately recognizable through infrastructure and awareness of spatial occupation, and those that are intangible through cognitive activity and abstract experience. Both of these modes of place are important in the creation or preservation of urban spaces because the physical aspects can represent certain ideals that are either inclusive or exclusive, and intangible place can be formed through the cultural activities or interactions as a result of these spaces. There are two modes of place, one that produces “outsideness” and one that achieves “existential insideness.” When people feel separate or even alienated from a place they are experiencing TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 33 outsideness, isolated from a civic, social, or cultural identity. Creative placemaking is a direct producer of outsideness, steamrolling cultural sensitivity and removing population groups from their unique selfness. On the other hand, there is existential insideness, the ultimate inclusion and immersion into a place that forms strong communities. The desire of placekeeping is to achieve this conscious sense of place through involving diverse agents and recognizing the value in existing places. Placekeeping and existential insideness bring about comfort, safety, appreciation, and pride. The more people feel as if a place is truly theirs, the stronger they will identify with their surroundings and community. We need to look towards communities of color and original urban residents to inform our idea of what civic engagement really means and draw upon their experiences to shape sense of place through creative placekeeping that is accessible, inclusive, vibrant, and most importantly, equitable. Authenticity This is another one of those buzzwords like “vibrancy” or “sense of place” that is key in describing creative placemaking project goals and outcomes. Authenticity is a subjective and temporal condition that is rooted in population origins and initial settlement. Zukin (2010) described the relationship between authenticity and origins as: “’Origins’ suggests instead a moral right to the city that enables people to put down roots. This is the right to inhabit a space, not just to consume it as an experience. Authenticity in this sense is not a stage set of historic buildings as in SoHo or a performance of bright lights as at Times Square, it’s a continuous process of living and working, a gradual buildup of everyday experience, the expectation that neighbors and buildings that are here today will be here tomorrow” (p. 6). TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 34 With creative placemaking, authenticity is pursued as a consumable amenity to brand neighborhoods as hip, “artsy,” or livable. This could also be understood as “gritty,” an aesthetic understanding of blight that possesses historic charm. However, it betrays the true nature of authenticity because of its ability to displace the people who created “origins” in the first place. Creative placemaking shouldn’t just be about a false experience of spatial origins, but true preservation of people and places. Neeraj Mehta indicates that creative placemaking strategies should focus on the “who” and “why” rather than the “what” and “how.” Since authenticity is about people, Mehta (2012) suggests we ask “Who are we improving the quality of life for? Who is the community for which there is identity and sense of place?” If creative placemaking is looking to emphasize authenticity, it is necessary to work with the communities that will likely be displaced or disenfranchised by the end product. The use of product in this instance is directly relatable to current outlook on creative placemaking, one that transforms places into destinations for consumer activity. Authenticity is not always disingenuous, but its transparent disadvantages must be addressed. Zukin (2010) suggests that to generate equity through authenticity “we need to tap deeper into the aesthetic of new beginnings that inspire our emotions” (p. 220). This is similar to sense of place, our intrinsic “feel” of a community and how that informs personal connections. Historic neighborhoods are appropriated for use by upper-class, White populations and glamorized by media. “Alternately mourning, glorifying, and dramatizing the city’s gritty past, the media help that image to recede into social obsolescence while recycling it into the aesthetic code of a new urban lifestyle” (Zukin, p. 228). With the abandonment of rent controls in many U.S. cities, low-income TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 35 and minority populations are subject to gentrification due to lack of moral obligation by developers and local government. Affordable housing retains those who would otherwise be displaced by development activity and enables local businesses to continue operation without threat of uprooting. Authenticity is not an inappropriate term to imagine adaptive reuse and creative placemaking in urban areas, but it must be understood outside of aesthetic appeal. Social origins are indicative of ethnic groups, organizations, businesses, and neighbors and are more useful in identifying existing qualities that make that place unique. We shouldn’t cut authenticity out of the conversation of creative placemaking because “To speak of authenticity means that we are aware of a changing technology of power that erodes one landscape of meaning and feeling and replaces it with another” (Zukin, p. 220), we just have to do so without monopolizing aesthetics and monetizing minority culture. Conclusion Creative placemaking has gained rapid popularity over the past decade, exalted as a saving grace for urban development by involving artists. Real estate agents, developers, and city officials are automatically dismissed as the enemy, but arts leaders and culture workers can connect to communities on a different, more personal level. As we’ve seen hundreds of time, revitalization leads to increased interest and rising property values, causing gentrification that displaces marginalized communities so their long-time residencies can become luxury apartments or an expensive coffee shop. Every city wants to develop their own version of Brooklyn to improve their image for attracting the Creative Class and world-renowned cultural amenities. “Just as image TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 36 helps to market individual buildings and places, so it also markets cities as, if not productive, at least creative, interesting, and attractive. The process of branding always merges developers’ interests and consumers’ desires with officials’ rhetoric of growth; branding tries to make each city appear different from and better than the competition” (Zukin, 2010, p. 231). Our diverse communities get left behind as policymakers get swept up in the glittering excitement of globalization and potential for the Bilbao effect to root itself in their own backyards. These exclusionary tactics further marginalize low- income or immigrant demographics and prevent our urban centers from ever becoming truly cosmopolitan places for residential, commercial, and cultural life. For creative placemaking to be successful, it has to evoke a sense of belonging for all populations. This can be achieved by preserving authentic qualities of neighborhoods: historic buildings, small businesses, cultural traditions, and spatial memories. “The task for us who work on Creative Placemaking activities is to assure and sustain a mindful awareness of what is authentic in Creative Placemaking” suggests Roberto Bedoya (2013). “The authenticity I am invoking is grounded in the ethos of belonging. Cultural and civic belonging — how to create it; how to understand and accommodate cultural difference in matters of civic participation; how to enhance the community’s understanding of citizenship beyond the confines of leisure pursuits and consumption; how to help the citizens of a place achieve strength and prosperity through equity and civility.” Thankfully this recognition has started to take hold for emerging projects, with organizations and cities alike incorporating equitable development strategies from the start. Reports, neighborhood groups, and city-citizen partnerships are contributing to our understanding of the ethical development of urban TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 37 places. The Urban Institute published a research report in 2016 that highlighted insights learned from the community engagement process for the 11th Street Bridge Park project in Washington D.C. Reports such as this one increase transparency and build trusting relationships between policymakers and citizens, while also informing a broader knowledge base. The first step is to re-frame creative placemaking so that it addresses social and racial injustices from the start. Arts managers, architects, city planners, government officials, and community leaders could “begin with us examining the language we use, and uncovering the implicit meanings and systemic pressures they encode and conceal. Since language both shapes and limits the way people think – can we not invent better terms that reject business as usual and open up real possibilities for more equitable, imaginative futures?” (Starowitz & Cole, 2015). Roberto Bedoya poses the replacement of creative placemaking with placekeeping, a term that could advance racial justice goals by equalizing the recognition of place in all neighborhoods. Affordable housing and property ownership greatly improve the chances of avoiding displacement. Implementing policies that support these during the redevelopment process, like community land trusts, affordable housing initiatives, and educational systems that help transition renters to owners, encourage active citizen participation and pride in themselves, their heritage, and place. Once communities can realize their full potential through celebratory practices, the notion of place can transcend vibrancy and become truly alive. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 38 CHAPTER FOUR CASE STUDY: THE ARTERY, MILWAUKEE, WI Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The ARTery is a linear park developed by nonprofit social architecture studio called beintween and the Greater Milwaukee Committee as part of the Creational Trails placemaking initiative funded by ArtPlace America. The Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) is a private civic organization whose mission is “to contribute to the cultural and economic base of the Milwaukee Metropolitan area” (GMC, 2011) and have identified three initiatives that will improve and grow Milwaukee: Innovation and Talent, Economic Prosperity, and Vibrancy of Place. In 2014, GMC developed a Creative Placemaking Committee to develop a localized understanding of creative placemaking that is informed by national dialogue and framework already presented by the National Endowment for the Arts. GMC has coined their own outlook on creative placemaking called The Milwaukee Method, which “acknowledges that cultural workers such as artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs are critical to influencing neighborhood development. These cultural workers are responsive to the regional landscape, climate, and people to help value our history and explore new perspectives” (GMC, 2015, p. 2). Their Creative Placemaking Committee falls under both the initiatives Economic Prosperity and Vibrancy of Place. As part of the Greater Milwaukee Committee’s Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) goal, they imagined a creative placemaking project that would bring life to a downtown avenue and an unused railroad corridor called Creational Trails. ArtPlace America is a national creative placemaking fund that operates with the help of federal departments and other granting agencies. In TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 39 2014, they awarded the Creational Trails project $350,000 for a 1 year and 5 months funding period to develop The Avenue and The ARTery. Community Need The ARTery is a social and spatial project designed to bridge two historic Milwaukee neighborhoods, Riverwest and Harambee. The Greater Milwaukee Committee (2013) identified this as a need, observing that “In the predominantly African-American area of Harambee, some residents need to go down a steep foot path and then cross six lanes of traffic to reach the Riverworks Center retail area, which is a more Caucasian and successful middle-class neighborhood.” Riverwest is located near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is a popular destination for creatives and Millennials due to its bohemian flair. Petersen (2011) described Riverwest as “an incubator for cooperatives and breeding ground for artists and musicians, it’s one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods—socially, racially, and economically.” Just next door is the Harambee neighborhood, named after the Swahili word for “pulling together.” Originally settled by Germans in the 1800s, the neighborhood began to see an increase in African American populations in the 1930s. Harambee has hosted a Juneteenth celebration since 1972, making African American culture and history dominant and thriving in this area. Residents in the Harambee neighborhood have a history of community organizing and development that reflects their own culture. In 1983, local residents advocated for a section of Third Street to be re-named Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and saw success, even though many businesses pushed back because they thought the name change would negatively impact their business. The Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 40 (HGNI) was established in 2007 out of the need to unify community members and revitalize their neighborhood. HGNI operates three committees—Executive Committee, Arts, Culture, and Environment Committee, and the Housing and Economic Development Committee. Harambee is a majority minority neighborhood, reporting that over 50% of their residents identify as African American. The ARTery forms an 8-acre linear park that extends the historic Beerline Trail, a former rail corridor that transported beer ingredients to breweries around Milwaukee, by 2/3 of a mile. Railroad property was purchased by the City of Milwaukee for $784,000 from a private party before extension development began. With the extension offered opportunities for adaptive reuse of an abandoned rail corridor, performance spaces, recreation, and a place for community socialization and mingling. beintween began to imagine the project in 2012 and described The ARTery project as: “The artery reclaims a former industrial rail corridor as an exhibitional space for community-based art by engaging local stakeholders to co-define public space, offering resources and relationships to promote creativity towards both cultural and economic growth. Beyond the physical installations and programming, the artery has become a place that embraces cultural differences, enhances connectivity, and rejuvenates community, ultimately empowering its residents and businesses to work or ‘pull’ together to address the reality and repercussions of segregation, creating opportunity for equitable and sustainable development.” Community Involvement Process Because creative placemaking can function as a displacement agent, its success relies heavily on bottom-up strategies and transparency. These concerns are particularly TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 41 relevant in the case of The ARTery in its attempt to address racial segregation by bridging the predominantly Caucasian Riverwest neighborhood and a majority African American neighborhood, Harambee. Partnerships and collaborations are key to implementing sustainable placemaking that addresses economic, environmental, social, and cultural sustainability. Engaging diverse, local entities will build relationships with the private and public sector and serve as an expert to understanding the nuanced spatial and social issues that exist in their communities. The Greater Milwaukee Committee MiKE initiative announced the awarded grant in May 2013 and immediately began to gather community feedback and municipal support. Partners for The ARTery project included Art Milwaukee, the Riverworks Development Corporation, City of Milwaukee, NEWaukee, beintween, Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative, and many individual consultants and project designers. The ARTery was led by the GMC and a project consultant named Sara Daleiden, a cultural worker who splits her time between Los Angeles and Milwaukee to promote cultural exchange with an emphasis on regionalized values and identity factors that can play into public space. Daleiden, being a Milwaukee local, primarily focused on community engagement efforts and spatial advocacy. Other individual key partners included local writer and creative facilitator Dasha Kelly, who aided The ARTery in carrying out their summer performance festivals, and Tyrone Dumas, a former K-8 principal near Harambee and current educational consultant who helped to develop the educational resources available to community youth in the I CAN 2 LABS built from a re-purposed shipping container. A summarized schedule of the development process and community engagement is as follows: TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 42 TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 43 Project Sustainability Project leaders of The ARTery have emphasized sustainability since its inception. Through site layout, material choices, and art activities, The ARTery incorporates sustainable aspects from each of the Four Pillars of Sustainability. Economically, the trail itself was purchased by the City of Milwaukee for $784,000 from a private development company who had initial plans to develop the 2/3 mile stretch into a commercial center. With the city’s purchase, this blighted area was now able to transform into a linear park that would bring economic activity and positive attention to Riverwest and Harambee. Additional funding for cleanup, installation, and occupation came from grant money or Kickstarter campaigns and did not drain any additional taxpayer money. Environmentally, The ARTery consists of many aspects that make the site ecologically sustainable. The site itself is a reclaimed former industrial railroad corridor, an adaptive reuse initiative that transforms abandoned, blighted property into living public space. The ARTery had been a place for illegal dumping that included large piles of tires that visually made the space a forgotten, linear dumpster. beintween founder Keith Hayes imagined a vision for the tires that could become a sustainable path material. This lead him to the installation of Matireal, a “permeable geo-textile” (GMC, 2013) made from over 1,200 recycled tires that weaves a trail pattern that is then filled with gravel and grass. beintween received help from over 50 volunteers to dismantle the tires and install 300’ of Matireal paving. Other environmentally sustainable materials along The ARTery include their North and South Stage, both of which are upcycled from donated shipping containers and provide shade for performers when occupied. Their I TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 44 CAN 2 LABS is also repurposed from a donated shipping container that now hosts a mobile classroom and free Wi-Fi. By extending the Beerline Trail to open up The ARTery, the public will now be able to use this space as a bike trail to safely and sustainably access nearby goods and services that have otherwise been too difficult to reach without using a car. Socially sustainable aspects of The ARTery include GMC and beintween’s efforts to build partnerships and interest from groups that will help to ensure the equitable development of the site. Keith Hayes is a Riverwest resident which helps establish the legitimacy of his vision to the community. Hayes and Sara Daleiden both led community engagement efforts and calls for proposals, enabling local residents to build a trusting vision of the project since it was not led by policymakers and elected officials who usually lack transparency. Hayes commented on the importance of continual community involvement, saying “That whole process of creating something the community identifies with is just interaction, it’s flexibility, it’s being there, it’s not putting something in over night and then walking away” (Faraj, 2014). The ARTery itself encourages open dialogue and discourse to continue bridging neighborhoods and provides spaces for this to occur, including the I CAN 2 LABS. Offering access to educational resources and public space to meet new people allows for Riverwest and Harambee to grow in tandem with a focus on the people. Once people know they can participate in the space they feel as if they belong and The ARTery will become a safe place that explores creativity and advocates for social connection. Culturally, The ARTery reflects Milwaukee history because of its obvious industrial past and connection to the historic Beerline Trail. The exterior wood siding of TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 45 the I CAN 2 LABS is made up of recycled railroad ties to further celebrate local history. Harambee is a Milwaukee neighborhood rich with African American cultural influence that has been active in its own growth for decades. I CAN 2 LABS was an equitable initiative to give underserved youth access to educational technologies and free internet. The classroom space itself also doubled as a meeting space for design feedback in relation to The ARTery and served as a workshop space to engage in conversations surrounding equity, access, and inclusion and how these would be affected in Riverwest and Harambee as the project continues. When working with marginalized communities it is necessary to create engagement strategies that do not further isolate them from civic participation. Alternative spaces such as community centers and churches are culturally comfortable and accessible to these populations, and GMC thoughtfully chose to hold their open call for performance ideas at a Harambee church. The ARTery is now populated with several culturally significant spatial interventions such as a recycled wood and crate basketball court, a community table built from reclaimed wood that hosts neighborhood barbecues, and open performance stages with amphitheater seating to support open mic nights, community meetings, and neighborhood festivals. By cultivating strategic partnerships and building personal relationships at the beginning of the project, GMC and beintween were able to design a place with the input and direction of the community that reflects their past, present, and future without displacing those same populations. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 46 Conclusion Rail to trail initiatives are ambitious because of the policy obstacles and finances required to transform blighted space into active place. If a private development company had moved ahead with plans to make the corridor into a commercial strip, Riverwest and Harambee would be undergoing a completely different set of changes. The ARTery showcases how creative placemaking can present arts and culture as a catalyst for change that extends past economic reach. Darryl Johnson, Executive Director of partnering organization Riverworks Development Corporation, recognized the isolation between the two neighborhoods. “It was almost like the haves and the have-nots. We needed to find ways to engage residents of both areas with each other” he commented (Mendez, 2017). Johnson has been instrumental in developing the Beerline Trail and advocating for improvements in Riverwest and Harambee. By partnering with GMC for The ARTery project, their vision has now shifted to include an entire creative district in the area. Johnson’s other involvement includes a housing cooperative to ensure continued affordability, and the creation of a Financial Opportunity Center to provide training in finances and career coaching. By partnering with Johnson’s company, GMC and beintween accessed these vital resources that help to prevent displacement and dis-belonging, and honored their vision for social and spatial justice. Revitalization is a slow process, and Johnson recently commented on the changes, noting “There’s still not enough activities for young people; too many boarded-up houses and commercial buildings” (Mendez, 2017). Milwaukee is proving their expertise as a national voice in creative placemaking. The ARTery has seen TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 47 success not only in its output, but also in its smart partnerships, collaborative spirit, sustainable nature, and people-centric placemaking. CHAPTER FIVE CASE STUDY: ACTIVATING VACANCY, DALLAS, TX Activating Vacancy is a collaborative initiative in Dallas, Texas between buildingcommunityWORKSHOP (bcWORKSHOP), Dallas CityDesign Studio, and Preservation Dallas to re-imagine abandoned spaces in the historic Tenth Street District. The project was awarded $50,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts Our Town program, a grant that “supports creative placemaking projects that help to transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places with the arts at their core” (NEA, Our Town). Our Town grants require a minimum partnership of one nonprofit organization and one local government entity, which in this case were bcWORKSHOP and Dallas CityDesign Studio, respectively. With this grant money, Activating Vacancy funded six temporary projects to be developed by artists, residents, and community leaders starting in Fall 2013 for a one-year funding period. bcWORKSHOP (2013) described the project as: “Activating Vacancy will explore how design and art can re-imagine the forgotten or neglected spaces in the Tenth Street community as part of a dialogue about what the neighborhood is, was, and could be. Artists and designers will be commissioned by bcWORKSHOP to immerse themselves in the community, working collaboratively with residents and stakeholders to develop and execute six projects. Together, these works will challenge common public perceptions of vacancy in Tenth Street and critically TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 48 consider historic preservation, among other urban conditions, as they relate to the neighborhood.” Community Need The Tenth Street Historic District is a historic African American neighborhood in Dallas that began to decline after integration and interstate development. It was founded as a Freedman’s town after the Civil War that attracted other freed slaves because of employment opportunities and safe community. Tenth Street Historic District is home to cultural landmarks that include Oak Cliff Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in the area built in 1846, two churches founded by Tenth Street historic community leaders, an elementary school, and remains of an early 20th century commercial districts. Very few Freedman’s towns remain as intact as Tenth Street which contributes to its national importance in addition to local cultural influence. Cedar Creek is a culturally significant natural landmark because of its symbolic ties with the African American belief system. According to Solamillo (1994), “Water and its associations with life became interwoven within the African-American belief system and were prominently included in symbolic rituals signifying both ‘beginning’ and ‘passage,’” tied to Christian baptisms, childbirth, and survival. Churches are also of particular significance in the African American community because of their strong familial ties and community resources. “Traditional African belief systems stressed the necessary balance between one’s collective identity and responsibility as a member of society, as well as one’s personal identity and responsibility” explains Solamillo (1994). “A person was defined by their role within a TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 49 specific community, and was viewed as being an integral part of that community to which he/she belonged and in which he/she found identity and specific relevance.” Cedar Creek, Oak Cliff Cemetery, and neighborhood churches are key identifiers of place and belonging within the Tenth Street Historic District. Architectural styles are also representative of the socio-economic history of Tenth Street residents, which is historically low-income. Dominant residential architecture includes historically African American styles such as shotgun and double-shotgun houses, camelback, and saddleback houses. All of these styles emerged as designed attempts to make property purchase cheaper and maximize occupancy. Because of this, these single or multi- family residential options were attractive to low-income communities of color. Many of these homes are blighted and disfigured when they could be a vibrant sign of community pride. Activating Vacancy saw the success of Rick Lowe’s Project Row Houses in Houston during the early 2000s and realized that similar efforts could be applied to another historic African American neighborhood that is faced with architectural abandonment and neglect, especially in shotgun houses. Tenth Street Historic District faced decline after the Great Depression hit in the 1930s that is still present today. The construction of I-35E, that now borders the Tenth Street Historic District to the West, further impacted the neighborhood with abandonment and divided access. In 1993, it became a City of Dallas Landmark District and was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places shortly afterwards in 1994. Today, the land is subdivided into 358 properties, 150 of which are vacant. Longtime resident Lou Nells Sims commented “We know development will come, and there’s the possibility TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 50 properties will be bought out and there will be rezoning. We still want to tell our story about the community and our struggles” (Appleton, 2014). Project Installations and Performances Activating Vacancy is made up of a series of temporary installations and storytelling performances that were designed and constructed as project teams. Collaborating artists submitted project proposal ideas that were finalized through a series of neighborhood input sessions and committee review. The final 6 projects were chosen to be realized with the help of neighborhood residents: The Ark on Noah Street, Story Corners, Dear House, Ghost Bridges, Show Hill Biz Park, and Tenth Street Sweep. The Ark on Noah Street Local artist and curator Christopher Blay led The Ark on Noah Street project to be installed in the Greater El Bethel Baptist Church parking lot. Inspiration for the ark came during the neighborhood walking tour when Blay noticed the significance of the name Noah in the Tenth Street area. One of the neighborhood streets, Noah Street, was named after early neighborhood settler and leader Noah Penn, who was also instrumental in founding the Greater El Bethel Baptist Church. The name and religious site connection led to the Ark inspiration, which Blay symbolically incorporated into all aspects of his vision. The Ark was built around a 20-foot long storage container with salvaged materials from nearby abandoned homes including doors, windows, screens, and beams. Greater El Bethel donated 4 doors that were placed at the Ark corners to symbolically anchor and support the installation. Reclaimed materials for the Ark TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 51 created infrastructure for a gallery. Blay gave each gallery participant a 2’x2’ panel to creatively transform into a work of art that represents Tenth Street through images, objects, written narratives, or other forms of creative expression. Residents proudly transported their panels to the Ark through a neighborhood parade which were then installed inside. The project reveal became a day-long celebration complete with live music and a community barbecue. Blay received feedback about improving the aesthetics of the Ark, noting that the project looked unfinished. He commented that the unfinished qualities inform the Ark’s story and “in a subtle way it starts the conversation about improving not only the object but the neighborhood as well and the connections with each other” (Bothwell, 2014). The Ark on Noah Street was displayed appropriately for 40 days and 40 nights, with additions encouraged. At the end of the project run, all materials and art were taken apart and stored inside the Ark’s shipping container until the next celebration. Story Corners The second project of Activating Vacancy consisted of an afternoon of storytelling that celebrates informal places. “In many of America’s inner cities, there are street corners and vacant lots, porch steps and ‘elder’ trees that have long served as informal gathering places for sharing stories, playing games, socializing and entertaining among residents” according to bcWORKSHOP (2014). This project sought to bring significance back to street corners as neighborhood gathering spaces instead of blighted spots for criminal activity. Leading up to the project premiere was a series of writing workshops for residents to reflect on their experiences and develop their performance pieces. One TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 52 resident created a series of short theater pieces to be performed during Story Corners by residents, actors, and high school students. During a designated Community Build Day, project artists worked with local craftspeople to identify and construct 3 different stage sites that would represent Tenth Street Historic District through stories of the past, present, and future. Performances included short theater acts, music, dance, poetry, rap, visual art, and traditional storytelling shared over food. Dear House Property abandonment and blight is a common issue in the Tenth Street Historic District. Dear House encouraged an attitude shift from viewing vacancy as transition stage for infrastructure. “Through a myriad of artistic actions, Dear House transformed how we, as community residents, understand and engage with vacant structures” described bcWORKSHOP (2014). A series of public writing workshops took place around the neighborhood to create letters, poems, and stories addressed to Tenth Street homes that are now vacant. A property owned by a member of the Curatorial Committee underwent an artistic metamorphosis to visually reflect the writings from public workshops. Transformations included video art, poetry displays, DIY performance platforms, and making stations as art installations and interactive education. The project took place during one Saturday evening, challenging residents to imagine a positive future for their neighborhood powered by collective art and sustainability. Dear House saw mail submissions from all over the world encouraging positivity and cultural support through property reuse, and residents learned about policy obstacles and processes that impact vacant structures. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 53 Ghost Bridges Ghost Bridges was a three-part weekend event that consisted of 2 site-specific installations and a pop-up gallery. The project addressed connectivity, access, and history of central Tenth Street Historic District locations. The first installation was built at the site of where Sunshine Elizabeth Chapel used to stand to give the community a place for gathering and relaxation. Vertical wooden posts replicated the chapel floorplan, with emphasis on two glowing LED posts that represented the steeple. For their second installation, Bird Bridges, project leaders chose to activate an unused piece of city-owned land in the neighborhood that was supposed to become a paved road. Cedar Creek used to run through this area until the construction of I-35 forced it to run dry. Because of its neglect, the space became overgrown with vegetation and inaccessible. Bird Bridges chose to celebrate the wild, unkempt aspects of this space by constructing creative birdseed installations that would be consumed over time. Bird Bridges brought to the light the juxtaposition between vacant public and private land and the eventual result of forgotten places. Artists from around Dallas were invited to submit work to a pop-up gallery event around the theme ORIGINS: Wild Urban Spaces for the last Ghost Bridges event. Show Hill Biz Park Show Hill was a prominent streetcar stop in the Tenth Street area that is now vacant. In order to reclaim their reputation as a self-sufficient economic center, project leaders chose to create the Show Hill Biz Park that would host a market to showcase their ability to generate income from multiple sectors. Before opening, interested individuals TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 54 had the opportunity to participate in a six-week training program that cultivated creative entrepreneurship with Tisha Crear of Susu Cultural Business Incubator. During these weekly sessions, attendees learned basic business skills such as accounting, product development, and logistical planning. The Biz Park activated the now vacant site of the historic Show Hill commercial center with DIY booths made from overgrown bamboo around the neighborhood. Arts, crafts, food, and other goods and services were sold at Show Hill Biz Park among music and sculpture that reflected the neighborhood. Crear indicated hope for the future, stating in a project video “This neighborhood used to have a lot of vibrant business, and we hope that with the program that we did with the vendor certification that the businesses that went through the training are able to help to re- inspire business and economic development in this neighborhood” (bcWORKSHOP, 2014). Tenth Street Sweep The last Activating Vacancy initiative was the Tenth Street Sweep, a physical audit of the neighborhood to determine overall health, identify vacant properties, and survey residents. Condition of sidewalks, street lights, signs, and other public infrastructure was also recorded as part of this process to put an emphasis on policy influence in rehabilitating blighted areas. College students from the University of Texas Arlington School of Architecture assisted in cataloging data and evaluating property maintenance needs. Information collected during the Sweep was sent to governmental agencies and utility companies for analysis and use in further development projects. By cleaning their TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 55 own streets, the community felt empowered by making a visible, positive difference and hoped that criminal activity would decrease. Community Involvement Process Creative placemaking takes a village, and Activating Vacancy was no exception. Dallas CityDesign Studio and bcWORKSHOP acted as project leads but gathered input and assistance from several organizations and individuals around Dallas. Nonprofit groups Preservation Dallas and the 2000 Roses Foundation were instrumental in the process, with additional help and support from the historic Greater El Bethel Baptist Church, Sunshine Elizabeth Chapel, and the American Care Foundation. Developing partnerships is not important just for the design and implementation stages of a creative placemaking initiative, but also for community outreach and engagement strategies. Having faith-based organizations and neighborhood nonprofits increase access and participation for the community. bcWORKSHOP had experience working in the Tenth Street area from a prior project called Neighborhood Stories, also funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Because of this, bcWORKSHOP had already built relationships in the area and were able to work with neighborhood artists and designers for the second time. In addition to forming partnerships, project leaders realized the addition of a Curatorial Committee and a Community Committee could increase legitimacy and increase involvement of local residents and artists. Their Curatorial Committee was described as “Established arts community representatives; responsible for arts administrative and technical advising; informs artists criteria and evaluation; part of artist selection and proposal refinement process” (bcWORKSHOP, 2016). This TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 56 committee was comprised of 4 members including representatives from Dallas Arts District, African American Museum in Dallas, and City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. The Community Committee possessed different responsibilities, including “Representative of larger neighborhood; responsible for defining goals, themes, project site, and proposal refinement” (bcWORKSHOP, 2016). Members of this committee included 5 long-time residents with ties to neighborhood businesses, organizations, or landmarks. Their community involvement and project schedule was as follows: TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 57 Involving community members can be a daunting task but will result in valuable insight and interest if carried out in a personal manner that reflects cultural competency. Project leaders spent six months participating in community outreach events, social activities, and evaluating collaborative design proposals. Spending the time up front to ensure the community actively supports the project will result in more personal, rich project outcomes that impact the Dallas/Fort Worth area as a whole. Project Sustainability While not explicitly stated in their project goals, Activating Vacancy proved its ability to create sustainable places through adaptive reuse and creative placemaking. Economic sustainability was highlighted through their Show Hill Biz Park project in which they offered training resources for individuals to become entrepreneurs and potential business owners. The market itself aimed to bring back economic self-sufficiency in the neighborhood and provided a few paying jobs that included building the vendor booths. Creative placemaking is dependent upon multiple private and public sector economic opportunities to generate localized revenue and improve overall community wellbeing. Sustainable placemaking is all about places being able to sustain themselves through arts and culture, because revitalization opportunities attract economic activity. Activating Vacancy proved that a lasting impact can be made with little resources and a lot of community pride. Environmentally, the project was sustainable due to Activating Vacancy projects utilizing many reclaimed materials or spaces. The Ark on Noah Street was built from a recycled shipping container that was surrounded with salvaged objects from demolished TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 58 or neglected properties, and also functions as compact storage for the disassembled Ark pieces. Story Corners took advantage of unused corners, intersections, and parking lots as a site to build temporary stages out of scrap materials that could be reused for similar events in the future. Dear House occupied an existing, vacant neighborhood home and transformed it into an art installation using minimal materials that would not alter the property. Ghost Bridges utilized 2 different vacant sites for art installations, one of which offered birdseed to the wildlife without interrupting natural growth in the area. Show Hill Biz Park reclaimed a former property lot for its market and built the vendor booths from bamboo found around the neighborhood. Bamboo is a notoriously sustainable material and a fast-growing plant that can easily take over natural landscapes if left untreated, so harvesting it for vendor booths is especially sustainable. Even though the initiative did not construct or transform any materials, Tenth Street Sweep had sustainable goals in mind. Their creation of a neighborhood audit advocated for property care and cleanup which would decrease public health and environmental harm worries. In addition, they advocated for the reuse of these structures rather than demolition. From a socially sustainable standpoint, Activating Vacancy is a prime example of how the community should inform creative placemaking instead of creative placemaking informing the community. All the projects involved some sort of potluck or barbecue aspect to attract participants and encourage information conversation between parties. Food has been integral to social activities and celebrations since the dawn of time and provides a friendly atmosphere that makes meeting new people easier. As Robert Putnam (2000) eloquently stated “Like pennies dropped in a cookie jar, each of these TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 59 encounters is a tiny investment in social capital” (p. 62), their series of informal barbecues and picnics cultivate a community environment that is accessible and open to new people and ideas. Storytelling and group conversations were integral to the development of these project ideas and were passed on to participants and spectators alike. Sharing these stories to the public creates awareness of their neighborhood and increases social and cultural legitimacy around Dallas. The most exciting aspect of Activating Vacancy was the six-week vendor certification training program as part of Show Hill Biz Park. This workshop empowered residents to imagine themselves as creative business owners that could contribute to the neighborhood economically and socially. Blighted neighborhoods are typically populated with low-income, minority populations that have less access to educational resources than high-income, white neighborhoods. Educating the community provides them with ownership and care that indicates their permanence in the city. Activating Vacancy is also steeped in thoughtful layers of historic significance that will continue to sustain Tenth Street Historic District culturally. Each project site is tied to a historic location, design is thoughtfully executed to symbolically represent the neighborhood, and projects are entrenched in rich personal stories. It’s not always about what you do at the site itself, but the intent of using that site that addresses history. Cedar Creek, Greater El Bethel Baptist Church, Sunshine Elizabeth Chapel, and Show Hill are all culturally significant sites that were recognized or rebuilt in some aspect during Activating Vacancy. While the activations may have seemed aesthetically simple, they were made up of complex and detailed planning processes to properly honor the Tenth Street area. Utilizing religious sites for community meetings, TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 60 workshops, and installations themselves highlight the importance of faith-based activity in predominantly African American neighborhoods and emphasize the importance of working as a collective unit. Architecturally, the homes in the Tenth Street are steeped in African American history and are smartly considered a key player in Activating Vacancy projects. By reusing shotgun homes, African American history is not only preserved but celebrated aesthetically. Rather than new development demolishing these structures for more “visually appealing” architecture, the shotgun houses can help minority populations be seen. Through Activating Vacancy, bcWORKSHOP and Dallas CityDesign Studio helped residents translate their neighborhood pride into performance and installations that would put the Tenth Street Historic District back on the map. Pride and activism generates ownership, which will create a culturally sustainable future built by people, for people. Conclusion Since Activating Vacancy’s completion in Fall 2014, the neighborhood has seen a number of positive changes. The NEA’s Our Town website identified three conditions that contributed to increased livability in the Tenth Street Historic District: “1) The community was inspired and supported in coming together; 2) Residents were provided empowerment and entrepreneurial training through art, as seen through an increase in the number of personal activities, including small businesses and political activism; and, 3) detailed maps and lists were created of areas in the neighborhood that need immediate improvement and can be dealt with as part of the City of Dallas’ routine maintenance.” TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 61 The projects inspired the creation of a neighborhood organization called Operation Tenth Street who focuses their involvement on community beautification and activism projects. Community members loved The Ark on Noah Street so much that it returned for its 2nd festival in 2015, complete with a gallery parade to install 2’x2’ art panels. Added activities included a pop-up market, a re-staging of a play from Story Corners, and a special exhibit about Tenth Street history. In March 2016, bcWORKSHOP announced it would be implementing a similar initiative to the original initiative called Activating Vacancy Arts Incubator in downtown Brownsville, Texas. Small-scale beautification projects have been developing in the area, including a community garden and clean-up efforts. Currently, bcWORKSHOP is set to rehabilitate a vacant residency on 10th street to become a neighborhood resource center and community design center even with impeding threats to demolish a number of structures in the area. Robert Swann, a new resident to Tenth Street in, recognized its history and urged “There needs to be more of an appreciation of this area’s importance to Dallas and drawn to its rich roots. If more people understood this history, they’d step in to help preserve it” (Dallas Morning News Editorial, 2016). By incorporating asset mapping and evaluative measures into their project, Activating Vacancy will help to inform future adaptive reuse and development around the United States. This form of placekeeping will continue to inspire attitude shifts towards vacant structures and blighted aesthetics while also advancing policy at a local level that will make revitalization initiatives come to life. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 62 CHAPTER SIX FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Creative placemaking has the potential to be more than simply an economic development tool or neighborhood beautification movement. Public spaces were designed to exclude certain social groups and classes, leading to widespread inequity in place ownership and influence. Before we continue down this path of places for profit, it is vital to address the consequences pre-construction rather than pursue correctional action post-project. Long-term outcomes need to include a vision for an affordable and self-sustaining community no matter the cost of the project. Even relatively inexpensive or temporary installations can attract developers in droves as soon as a space exhibits a whiff of potential. While many policy barriers exist, The ARTery and Activating Vacancy showcase that placemaking can be employed in an equitable, sustainable manner. Policy Influence Majority of the policy influence on placemaking projects and other urban development come from city and neighborhood governing agents. While national policymaking does have some influence, especially over preservation standards, placemaking is planned on a case-by-case basis with varying issues, obstacles, and benefits that guide the process. There are multiple stages to development and displacement, so prevention measures should be identified from the start. Good intentions are not enough to succeed in equitable placemaking because of underlying racism, prejudice, and xenophobia that perpetuate discriminatory practices in public spaces. Project for Public TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 63 Spaces (2017) affirm “We need an actual politics of placemaking. Our naiveté borders on negligence if we don’t explicitly address how the very presence of certain bodies in public has been criminalized and the color of your skin can render you ‘out of place.’” It is impossible to shape spaces that hold the same value to all classes, races, abilities, gender, sexual orientation, and ages, but it is possible to create places that serve a community as a whole. Using art and placemaking to shed light on these societal issues is a great way to garner attention and start a conversation, but policy is the ultimate decision-maker for preventing blight and displacement. Sharing Power with the Community Public spaces are public for a reason and should belong to everyone, not just those who designed and built the space itself. There are a number of promising ways community members can get involved in the planning process or governance of a place at a grassroots level. One method is the creation and designation of Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) to formalize the role of community involvement by notifying members about potential zoning or variance changes, development proposals, and other activities that affect their area. There is no guarantee that government representatives or development companies will accept public feedback at public hearings or information sessions, but RCOs can generate important dialogue between parties and promote community ownership. The Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (2015) suggests annual training for RCO leadership to learn about the processes and provide feedback, and training for developers to communicate their proposals and engage with RCOs respectfully. Similar to RCOs are Neighborhood TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 64 Advisory Committees (NACs) that can be funded through city government or nonprofits to connect residents to public services, participate in community engagement for development projects, and organize the community to make an impact. Many NACs have faced drastically decreased or eliminated funding and are forced to serve a larger geographic area with less funds, making change and management more difficult. Ideally, cities could establish NACs if they don’t already exist, and allocate more funding for those that do. NAC funding could potentially rotate annually or biennially through an application process that would allow neighborhoods to strengthen on their own and spread revitalization potential in more areas than the downtown core. Affordable Housing and Assistance City housing strategies are primarily concerned with receiving and spending funds for purposes that affect a limited population or area in a short amount of time, with little concern for long-term outcomes and investment in neighborhood growth and stabilization. Instead, local organizations, governmental agencies and other stakeholders should commit resources for a comprehensive housing plan like they do for large-scale development or cultural plans. The Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (2015) proposes that these housing plans should include a minimum of three strategies: “Allow residents to stay in neighborhoods that are improving so they can benefit from the changes; Ensure we improve our existing stock of affordable homes so they are of high quality; Allow people to choose the right neighborhood for them by creating more affordable options and mixed income housing developments” (p. 14). These strategies can prevent displacement without TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 65 compromising neighborhood health and community well-being, and adaptive reuse can further improve the prospects of maintaining mixed-use blocks and property value. Affordable housing should not be confined to areas that are already blighted or underserved by community resources such as transportation or retail. Taking advantage of vacancies or adapting buildings in higher-income neighborhoods can cut down costs of initial housing construction and offer an affordable alternative. Displacement is extremely difficult to prevent because little data exists on who gets displaced and why. Unfortunately, it is common for landlords to hike rent prices and post eviction notices with little time to make future arrangements. It should be a requirement for landlords and property owners to report their rate to city governments not only for the sake of honest transparency, but also to provide data that can be tracked over time to note changes and anticipate needs. Training programs should exist for both landlords and residents to help them manage their properties and ensure they are not being taken advantage of by developers. Business owners also get displaced and it is necessary to offer them resources that keep the economy local and diversified. Aid programs include trainings to assist small business owners in becoming owners of their property rather than renters and rental rebates in up-and-coming areas. Mixed-use properties can also be applied to business owners by offering up the first-floor as retail or commercial space with residential units on the upper floors. Mixed-use neighborhoods attract younger generations, provide flexible spaces that can be adapted for residential or entrepreneurial endeavors, and promote diversity to contribute to a sense of belonging since “neighborhoods with a smaller-scaled mix of old and new buildings host a significantly higher proportion of new businesses, as well as more TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 66 women and minority-owned businesses than areas with predominantly larger, newer buildings” (Preservation Green Lab, 2014, p. 4). Accountability for Vacant and Abandoned Properties Evaluation strategies and public databases are key to creating an accountable system that can document vacant properties. Investing in these resources can provide a publicly accessible system for nonprofits, businesses, developers, and local government to determine areas that attention and quickly identify properties that could be conducive to adaptive reuse. Policies can be adopted that force property owners to become responsible for sub-standard physical conditions such as broken windows and code violations. For example, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections adopted its own unit whose sole purpose was to enforce these rules, including a policy that required working doors and windows on all buildings within a single city block that are 80% occupied. Holding property owners accountable for missed tax payments or code violations is important, but fees are not the most equitable or sustainable way to improve cooperation. City governments or nonprofit organizations could offer to make minor repairs or updates for low-income property owners or others who are irresponsible. If maintenance issues are ignored they only get worse and cause costs to increase over time, so it is more economical to stay ahead of the problem rather than spend more money for corrective measures and additional inspections. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 67 Placekeeping over Placemaking “Creative placemaking” sounds like a capitalist trademark used to attract artists and trendsetters with gentrification at their heels. “The dangers hidden in the blanket use of ‘Creative Placemaking’ are that its standards reflect and serve the tastes of those who profit unfairly from this system, and that it perpetuates structural inequality by covering over the flaws rather than genuinely working to fix them,” (Starowitz & Cole, 2015). Instead, we should replace creative placemaking with placekeeping in our everyday lexicon. Placekeeping is “structured by resourcefulness, and prompted by poverty, which is distinct from the imaginary imposed by the monetization of neighborhoods, a prevailing objective in urban development,” (Bedoya, 2014). All forms of placemaking are creative, and placekeeping is no exception. In fact, economic limitations can produce imaginative, unique objects or designs out of unexpected materials such as tires and pallets which is just as creative as creative placemaking itself. However, placekeeping is not marketable because of its emphasis on reuse and resourcefulness of materials which can be considered less attractive or possess an “out of place” aesthetic. By using placekeeping instead of creative placemaking, we are allowing marginalized populations visibility and a platform to be heard. Changing common terminology is not as easy feat, but neither is preventing displacement. We should use meaningful, deliberate terminology when describing a project’s vision to impacted communities, and placekeeping indicates a commitment to equity, preservation, and sustainability. Shifting our attitude and terminology from creative placemaking to placekeeping is both a global and local commitment that cannot be achieved overnight, but will generate equitable results for decades to come. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 68 Promoting Equity through Community Engagement Community engagement is the key to urban revitalization and should be done before a vision is even imagined to understand community wants and needs. However, most projects are approached with a larger visionary goal that restricts community involvement. During the development of the High Line in New York City, the managing organization Friends of the High Line attempted community involvement but fell short since “Sessions were for most part podium-and-audience arrangements, with community decision making being secondary to the primary purpose of sharing information and updating people” (Sherman, 2016, pp. 36-37). This is common across the United States, preventing in-depth discussion and honest exchange. Michael Rios (2014) criticized this process, noting “in addition to discouraging dialogue outside of narrowly defined problems, these processes fail to acknowledge that some of the people most negatively affected by planning decisions are the least visible” (Sherman, 2016, p. 37). Even though the High Line might not be considered a creative placemaking project, the results of their failed community engagement process can inform how we can change our methodologies. Friends of the High Line’s recommendations are as follows: “(1) be clear and intentional about which communities a project seeks to impact and how; (2) actively share power and institutionalizing partnerships with diverse communities (with a specific focus on low-income communities, communities of color, immigrants, and others typically marginalized by these processes); (3) devote resources and time to enacting policies and programs that may counteract any negative consequences that result from increased investment; and (4) be clear and honest about TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 69 who the governing bodies are accountable to, and institutionalize accountability mechanisms” (Sherman, 2016, p. 38). Being intentional about which communities a project seeks to impact both positively and negatively should lead the vision of the project. “The historical contingency of place determines which rights matter and for whom. Place claims are an important means by which marginalize groups negotiate different imaginaries of culture and, in the process, create new physical and political spaces” (Rios, 2012). While plazas and outdoor bistros are common social spaces for some demographics, this is not inclusive to all communities. Prioritizing people and their unique resources for economic and aesthetic improvement can increase value while celebrating their cultural contributions. “If you’re not building social capital in the community where you’re working, you’re not Placemaking: you’re just reorganizing the furniture” (Kahne, 2015). Allow neighborhoods to formalize community organizations to comment on development projects in their area. Institutionalizing these partnerships will allow for a clear process that educates both sides and opens up communication streams. Without affordable housing, there cannot be a symbiotic relationship between diverse cultural communities. Urban development processes in Dallas would look very different than those in Milwaukee because the cities occupy different geographies, temporal history, immigrant patterns, and urban sprawl. The City of Milwaukee and the Greater Milwaukee Committee have identified the need for a larger Midwestern voice in the field of creative placemaking and developed a Creative Placemaking Committee in 2014 to contribute to economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy. They are educating Milwaukee about The Milwaukee Method, a specific form of creative placemaking that directly TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 70 reflects their singular needs through developing a cultural leadership network, enacting creative placemaking projects throughout the city, and publishing material that contributes to the public’s education and perception of creative placemaking. More cities should adopt this strategy and form dedicated committees of diverse partners to ethically communicate with communities and mobilize their vision of a better future. Spatial initiatives are not sufficient to promote community sustainability in the long-term. Social initiatives must also be employed to create places of belonging and prevent displacement. The ARTery and Activating Vacancy demonstrate a robust mix of spatial and social strategies that highlight local history, respond to current needs, and envision a better tomorrow for the people who already live in the area. Communities of color and low-income populations yearn to be self-sustaining but often lack the resources to do so which is why social activities, training programs, and community engagement processes are so integral to the success of creative placemaking projects. We need to broaden our concern of urban development to include more than profit margin. Without concern for intrinsic benefits, social initiatives get lost in the process. By acknowledging the importance of social and cultural diversity in these projects, we can achieve placekeeping. Incorporating adaptive reuse into creative placemaking establishes a symbiotic relationship with a community because it asserts there is value in a place beyond monetary gain. Approaching these projects through a lens of placekeeping manifests a sustainable vision with concern for economic, environmental, social, and cultural well-being. It is time to face the gritty realities of urban development to transition towards equitable placemaking. TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 71 REFERENCES Appleton, R. (2014, May 16). Empty Oak Cliff house to come alive with exhibit’s letters of hope. Dallas News. Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas/2014/05/16/empty-oak-cliff-house-to- come-alive-with-exhibits-letters-of-hope Appleton, R. (2014, February 28). Tenth Street Historic District on board for ark festival. Dallas News. Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas/2014/02/28/tenth-street-historic-district- on-board-for-ark-festival Aksamija, A. (2016). Regenerative design and adaptive reuse of existing commercial buildings for net-zero energy use. Sustainable Cities and Society, 27(1), 185- 195. doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.06.026 Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage. (2004). Adaptive reuse: preserving our past, building our future. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. Bedoya, R. (2013). Placemaking and the politics of belonging and dis-belonging. Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, 24(1). Bedoya, R. (2014, September 15). Spatial justice: rasquachification, race and the city. Retrieved from http://creativetimereports.org/2014/09/15/spatial-justice- rasquachification-race-and-the-city/ Borrup, T. (2006). The creative community builder’s handbook: How to transform communities using local assets, art, and culture. Saint Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 72 Bothwell, A. (2014, March 6). Check out the Ark on Noah Street. It’ll be there for 40 days and 40 nights. Art and Seek. Retrieved from http://artandseek.org/2014/03/06/check-out-the-ark-on-noah-street-itll-be-there- for-40-days-40-nights/ Boustan, L.P. (2010). Was postwar suburbanization “white flight?” Evidence from the black migration. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(1), 417-443. doi: 10.3386/w13543 buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. (n.d.). Activating vacancy. Retrieved from http://www.bcworkshop.org/activating-vacancy buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. (2016). Project guide: activating vacancy. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/bcworkshop/docs/activating_vacancy_project_guide_sm Bullen, P.A., & Love, P.E. (2011). Factors influencing the adaptive re-use of buildings. Journal of Engineering Design and Technology, 9(1), 32-46. doi: 10.1108/17260531111121459. Cantell, S. F. (2005). The adaptive reuse of historic industrial buildings: regulation barriers, best practices and case studies. Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Adaptive-Reuse-of-Historic- Industrial-Cantell-Huxtable/afd049c24cc4a7ae628b779ba104c3deebed66cf Duxbury, N., Gillette, E., & Pepper, K. (2007). Exploring the cultural dimensions of sustainability. Creative City News. Retrieved from https://www.creativecity.ca/database/files/library/Creative_City_News_E.pdf TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 73 Faraj, J. (2014, May 16). Residents debate Beerline Trail extension. Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved from http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/05/16/residents-debate- beerline-trail-extension/ Freire, P. (1974). Education for critical consciousness. London: Sheed and Ward Ltd Goldbard, A. (2006). New creative community: the art of cultural development. Oakland, CA: New Village Press. Greater Milwaukee Committee. (2011). About. Retrieved from http://gmconline.org/about Hashemnezhad, H., Heidari, A. A., & Hoseini, P. M. (2013). “Sense of place” and “place attachment.” International Journal of Architecture and Urban Development, 3(1), 5-12. Retrieved from http://ijaud.srbiau.ac.ir/pdf_581_a90b5ac919ddc57e6743d8ce32d19741.html Hawkes, J. (2001). The fourth pillar of sustainability: culture’s essential role in public panning. Melbourne, VIC: Cultural Development Network. International Institute for Sustainable Development. (2016). Sustainable development goals: IISD perspectives on the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Winnipeg, MB: International Institute for Sustainable Development. Kahne, J. (2015, November 3). Does placemaking cause gentrification? It’s complicated. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/blog/gentrification/ Koh, A. (2017, May 24). Placemaking when Black lives matter. [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.pps.org/blog/placemaking-black-lives-matter/ Langston, C. (2008, November 3). The sustainability implications of building adaptive reuse. Retrieved from TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 74 http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=sustai nable_development Markusen, A., & Gadwa, A. (2010). Creative placemaking. Washington: National endowment for the arts. Mehta, N. (2012, October 16). The Question All Creative Placemakers Should Ask. Retrieved from https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/the-question-all-creative- placemakers-should-ask Mendez, E. (2017, February 17). Revival in Harambee. Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved from http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/02/17/revival-in- harambee/ Moss, I. D. (2012, May 9). Creative placemaking has an outcomes problem. Createquity. Retrieved from http://createquity.com/2012/05/creative- placemaking-has-an-outcomes-problem/ National Endowment for the Arts. (n.d.). Our Town. Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/grants-organizations/our-town/introduction National Vacant Properties Campaign. (2005). Vacant properties: the true cost to communities. Washington D.C.: National Vacant Properties Campaign. Retrieved from https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/app/legacy/documents/true-costs.pdf Nicodemus, A. (2013). Fuzzy vibrancy. Cultural Trends, 22(3-4), 213-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2013.817653 TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 75 Petersen, E. (2011, March 8). What is Riverwest? Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved from http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2011/03/28/historic-milwaukee-asks-what-is- riverwest/ Preservation Green Lab. (2014). Older, smaller, better: measuring how the character of buildings and blocks influences urban vitality. Washington, D.C.: National Trust for Historic Preservation. Preservation Green Lab. (2016). The greenest building: quantifying the environmental value of building reuse. Washington, D.C.: National Trust for Historic Preservation Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Redaelli, E. (2016). Creative placemaking and the NEA: unpacking a multi-level governance. Policy Studies, 37(4), 387-402. doi:10.1080/01442872.2016.1157857 Relph, E.C. (1976). Place and placelessness. London: Pion Rios, M. (2012, May 20). Marginality and the Prospects for Placemaking, International Society for the Philosophy of Architecture, [blog post]. Retrieved from http://isparchitecture.com/marginality-and-the-prospects-for-placemaking-by- michael-rios/ Schilling, J. M. (2003). The revitalization of vacant properties: where broken windows meet smart growth. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b93b/19662596ca8fed80e43c2c11c69974e3d75 2.pdf?_ga=1.42923173.1614930914.1490630617 TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 76 Sherman, D. (2017). Community engagement, equity, and the High Line. In C. Lindner and B. Rosa (Eds.), Deconstructing the High Line: postindustrial urbanism and the rise of the elevated park (pp. 28-40). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Solamillo, S. (1994). Tenth street historic district: a resident’s guide to the history, house types, rehabilitation recommendations and preservation incentives for the Tenth Street neighborhood. Retrieved from http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpres ervation/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/departments/sustainab ledevelopment/historicpreservation/HP%20Documents/Districts%20Page/ Tenth%20Street%20An%20Historic%20African%20American%20Neighbo rhood%20in%20Dallas.pdf&action=default Starowitz, S.M., & Cole, J. (2015, July). Thoughts on creative placetaking. Lumpen Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.lumpenmagazine.org/thoughts-on-creative- placetaking/ Taylor, J., Daleiden, S., & Syth, T. (2015). The Milwaukee method of creative placemaking [White paper]. Retrieved from http://gmconline.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/04/The-Milwaukee-Method-of-Creative-Placemaking.pdf Tuan, Y. (1979). Space and place. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Tucson Pima Arts Council. (2013). People, Land, Arts, Culture, and Engagement: Taking Stock of the PLACE Initiative. Tucson, AZ: Tucson Pima Arts Council. Retrieved from http://www.giarts.org/sites/default/files/people-land-arts-culture- engagement-taking-stock-place-initiative.pdf TOWARDS EQUITABLE PLACEMAKING 77 United States Census Bureau. (2017). Metropolitan and Micropolitan. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2014). Vacant and abandoned properties: turning liabilities into assets. Evidence Matters, 1-14. Retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/EM_Newsletter_winter_2014.pdf Viollet-le-Duc, E., & Wethered, C. (1875). On restoration. London: Sampson Low, Marston. Low and Searle. Zukin, S. (2010). Naked city: the death and life of authentic urban places. Oxford: Oxford University Press. APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 78 APPENDIX A AAD 551: COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS Arts Administration 451/551, Community Cultural Development Syllabus – Fall, 2016 Course Website: http://blogs.uoregon.edu/aad551f15flood/ Instructor: Bill Flood Mission of AAD: We educate cultural sector leaders and participants to make a difference in communities. Course Description This course is an overview of the relationship of the arts and culture to community development. Settings, constituencies, philosophical approaches, methodologies, planning and funding of arts and cultural programs will be examined. Career opportunities will be discovered and explored, and there is a strong emphasis on developing practical strategies for community cultural development and the roles of cultural workers within community development. Focus is on making a difference in communities (see mission statement above). Course Objectives Through lectures, readings, discussions, blogging, web and other research, written assignments, and small group work you will: - learn the history, theory, and multiple practices of community cultural development - understand the challenges and opportunities facing community cultural development and those that work within this area; - practice community cultural development and consider your future roles in this area; - develop (as a class) options for the City of Albany Oregon around how to develop a cultural inventory. Course Texts and Readings Texts: - Education for Critical Consciousness – Paulo Freire - New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development – Adams and Goldbard - The Creative Community Builders Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts and Culture – Tom Borrup - Rules for Radicals – Saul Alinsky APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 79 Other readings as assigned by the instructor. Readings are listed in Assignment Schedule and posted on the course website above. Course Structure and Meeting Times You are expected to complete readings, assignments and participate in course activities by specified due dates. Following is a list of topics for each class session. See the Assignment Schedule (on course website) for specific readings and assignments to be completed by each class. Class Topics Oct 14 1-4:50 • Introduction to course and one another • Review of syllabus, glossary, website • Clarify schedule, assignments, expectations • Review Revisiting Our Practice • Review How We Work as Cultural Workers • Discuss Albany cultural inventory project, choose research areas/groups Oct 15 9-4:50 • Review literature and history of community cultural development • Watch and discuss Bernice Reagon (Sweet Honey and the Rock) video • Discuss practice of being a cultural worker • Discuss New Creative Community • Discuss Education for Critical Consciousness and the theory and practices of Paulo Freire • Assessment and evaluation of community cultural development • Dialogue with Ed Hodney, City of Albany Director of Parks and Recreation • Work in Albany cultural inventory research groups Oct 28 1-4:50 • Discuss applications of Freire’s practice (story circles, curatorial methods, blogging, etc.) • Participate in a story circle • Access and equity • Collaborative practice • Discuss Rules for Radicals and organizing • Dialogue with Doug Blandy about access and equity • Discuss Albany research and work in Albany cultural inventory groups Oct 29 9-4:50 • (Maybe) lunch potluck…bring something from your culture and a story to share • Discuss Creative Community Builder’s Handbook • Discuss creative place-making and creative place-keeping • Discuss cultural planning • Visit to Albany Nov 18 1-4:50 • Albany presentation • Social media and community cultural development • Sustainability—what does it mean and how do we practice it? APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 80 • Discuss other key issues and opportunities facing community cultural development and cultural workers Nov 19 9-4:50 • Oral exam • Wrap-up 1. Participation -- Full participation means completing weekly readings and assignments on time, engaging/speaking (without dominating) in class discussions, reading and participating weekly in discussions via the class blog, and participating fully in class activities. Please post at least once each week on our blog around your response to readings and class projects, cultural inventory research, or another topic pertinent to our class. You will not receive any participation points for missed classes. If you have difficulty participating in class you must tell the instructor by the end of the first class. (30 points) 2. Group projects – We will develop options for the City of Albany on how to develop a cultural inventory. You will work with other students on community research, development of options and recommendations, and a presentation to City staff. Points will be assigned based on an assessment of both group and individual work. (20 points) 3. Group oral exam -- The oral exam provides a final opportunity for all students to review and understand course concepts. A study guide for the oral exam will be posted at least by Nov 4. Exam is scheduled for the final class period. (20 points) 4. A reflection paper is required from each student, to be emailed to the instructor in Word format no later than December 1. The paper (3-4 double-spaced pages for undergraduates and 5-6 pages for graduate students) should focus on a particular area of community cultural development that interests, intrigues, or perhaps challenges the student. Please follow the APA style for your paper. The paper must be mailed to the instructor in MS Word format. (20 points) Optional Extra Credit Project/Paper You have one opportunity during the term to complete an extra credit project for up to 10 points. This project shall be a paper, approximately 10 pages in length, on a topic to be mutually agreed upon between the student and instructor. The topic must address community cultural development and an interest area of the student. An example of a topic would be the application of new technology and media with community cultural development. The project is due by December 1, but can be turned in any time before that. This is an opportunity to make up points due to missing class because of illness. The paper must be emailed to the instructor in MS Word format. Attendance Attendance is mandatory. If a student must miss a class due to illness or death in the family the instructor must be notified prior to the class and a plan must be developed to make up the work. Regardless of the reason two absences will lower the student’s final APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 81 grade from A to B, B to C, etc. unless the optional extra credit project is successfully completed. Course Expectations and Conduct Material presented in this course can be controversial and involve heated discussion. Remember: culture is what we feel most strongly about. A variety of opinions and ideas are encouraged and appreciated. Participation in this class assumes that: The dignity and essential worth of all participants is respected;
 The privacy, property, and freedom of participants will be respected; Bigotry, discrimination, violence, or intimidation will not be tolerated; and, Personal and academic integrity is expected. It is very, very important to demonstrate active listening and not dominate discussion. Final Grading (out of a total of 100 points) 90-100
 A 80-89
 B 70-79
 C 60-69
 D 59% (or less) F (Note: no + or – are given for any grades.) Expectations and evaluation of undergraduate and graduate work will be differentiated. All students are expected to complete the course requirements listed above. A greater level of inquiry and detail is expected of graduate students, especially in written assignments. Student Participation and Engagement To aid in assigning student credit hours uniformly to all courses across the university, the U of O Curriculum Committee inventories the amount of student engagement in a course in order to assign the course its credit hours. The general guideline is that each credit hour should reflect 30 hours of student engagement over the course of the term. AAD 451/551 has been assigned 4 credit hours. This means you will engage in 120 hours of activities associated with this class. Your engagement in this class will break down approximately as described below (remember, this is a guideline – some students may spend more time, some less time). Educational Activity Hours of Student Engagement Explanatory Comments Course Attendance/Participation 30 Number of hours you will spend in class APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 82 Assigned readings 60 Estimated number of hours a student will spend over the course of the term reading all assigned reading Cultural inventory project 20 This is the estimated number of hours students will spend researching, organizing, writing, working on projects outside of class meeting times. Writing assignments 10 This is the estimated time it will take a student with average writing ability to produce final, acceptable written products that meet the course requirements 120 Academic Honesty Plagiarism is a serious offense. The consequences for using the words of another without quotation marks or citation, or of using the ideas and conclusions of another without citation, are severe. In this course, such academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Disabilities If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make an appointment with me during the first week of the term. The University of Oregon is working to create inclusive learning environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your participation, please notify me as soon as possible. You may also wish to contact Disability Services in 164 Oregon Hall at 346-1155 or (TTY: 346-1083). APPENDIX A: AAD 551 COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SYLLABUS 83 Sustainable City Year Program Information for Class Syllabus 2016-2017 Academic Year The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP), a program through the University of Oregon Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) links the students of the University of Oregon with an Oregon city, county, special district, or partnership of governments for an entire academic year. For the 2016-2017 academic year, the University of Oregon is partnering with the City of Albany, Oregon. Each year, a partner city receives assistance with their sustainability goals through the work of student classes across the University. In a typical year, 400+ students from 10- 12 disciplines across 15-25 classes might work on 20-30 partner-directed projects, devoting 40,000+ hours of work to helping a local entity transition to a more sustainable future. Now in its seventh year, SCYP is working with Albany to assist them in reaching their sustainability goals in an affordable manner while transforming higher education into an arena where students can learn through real-life problem solving. Students in the class will be expected to turn in high-quality, professional-level work. You will work closely with Albany city staff, as well as engage local community members, elected officials, and at times, local media. At the end of the term, you will present your work to the city. This may take the form of a poster presentation and/or a report. For interested students, there is an opportunity at the end of the term to work for SCI as a paid report-writer and to compile the work of the class into a single, final report to be given to Albany. Class instructors will recommend a student report writer – please reach out to them if you are interested in this position. Students will be given the opportunity to take a site visit to Albany. Should students desire to take multiple site visits, SCI can help arrange meetings with city staff and may also be able to reimburse students for transportation costs. We also recommend that students post their work on social media and blogs. The University of Oregon Libraries has prepared a research guide for SCYP students. To access resources, data, maps, and other information about Albany, please visit: http://researchguides.uoregon.edu/scyalbany If you have any further questions, please contact SCYP Manager, Megan Banks, at mbanks@uoregon.edu or call (541) 346-6395. APPENDIX B: AAA 608 GLOBAL CITIES AND ELEVATED PARKS 84 APPENDIX B AAA 608: GLOBAL CITIES AND ELEVATED PARKS SYLLABUS Winter 2017, Course Code: AAA 608 (CRN 27202) Global Cities and Elevated Parks Christoph Lindner, Architecture & Allied Arts Tuesdays 10.00-11.50, 307 Volcanology Building Office hours by appointment (cpl@uoregon.edu) Credit Hours: 2 | Format: seminar discussion | No prerequisites
 Assignments: 1 research proposal + 1 research paper or creative/design project This interdisciplinary, theory-driven course works across the fields of architecture, landscape, planning, historic preservation, and visual culture to examine the relationship between globalization, urban renewal, and the rise of the elevated park as a creative/design intervention in the built environment of cities. The focus is on the High Line in New York City, but the course adopts a transnational and comparative approach and considers the worldwide trend in postindustrial elevated parks in locations such as Chicago, London, Paris, and São Paulo. The aim is to analyze these projects from multiple disciplinary and theoretical perspectives, critically assessing their aesthetic, economic, ecological, symbolic, and social impacts. In so doing, the course addresses the ways in which elevated parks have become implicated in current debates about public space, creative practice, urban renewal, and gentrification. APPENDIX B: AAA 608 GLOBAL CITIES AND ELEVATED PARKS 85 Learning Outcomes At the end of the course, students will be able to: • understand the place and role of postindustrial renewal and landscape urbanism in cultural globalization and urban development since 1990. 
 • understand current trends and developments in contemporary architectural, landscape, and urban theory in relation to elevated parks. 
 • grasp and critically engage with theoretical and methodological approaches to studying contemporary built environments from interdisciplinary perspectives. 
 • grasp and critically engage with key developments in the fields of globalization studies and critical urban studies. 
 Assignments The course assignments consist of: 
 • 1 research proposal (500 words + bibliography) 
 • 1 research paper or creative/design research project. (Research paper: 3500 words + bibliography. Creative/design project: portfolio/object + 1500 words critical commentary and bibliography). The assignments are weighted as follows: • Research proposal: 30% of the final grade. • Research paper or creative/design research project: 70% of the final grade. The due dates for assignments are listed in the weekly schedule below.
 Seminar Schedule: 1. Introduction: Globalization and Cities (January 10) 
 - Reading: Foucault on heterotopias, Virilio on panic urbanism 
 2. Adaptive Reuse and Bourgeois Promenades (January 17) 
 - Case study: Paris, Promenade Plantée
 - Reading: Walter Benjamin on the flaneur, Joseph Heathcott on planning in postindustrial Paris 3. No class: independent reading and research (January 24) 4. Designing The High Line: Architecture, Art, and Community Engagement (January 31) 
 - Case study: the High Line
 - Reading: Danya Sherman on community programming, James Corner on landscape 
 APPENDIX B: AAA 608 GLOBAL CITIES AND ELEVATED PARKS 86 5. Gentrification and Neoliberal Renewal (February 7) - Case study: the High Line
 - Reading: Jonathan Crary on 24/7, Christoph Lindner on retro-walking 6. Gentrification and Public Space (February 14) - Case study: the High Line
 - Reading: Kevin Loughran on parks for profit - Assignment 1 due: research proposal 7. Smart Cities & Green Tech (February 21) - Case study: the Lowline
 - Reading: Christoph Lindner on slow spots, Richard Sennett on smart cities 8. The High Line Effect (February 28) - Case study: the Queensway
 - Reading: Scott Larson on the Queensway and community outreach 9. Greening Mobility (March 7) - Case study: Minhocão
 - Reading: Nate Millington on São Paulo, Richard Williams on cultures of fear 10. The End of the High Line (March 14) - Case study: Hudson Yards and Culture Shed
 - Reading: Shannon Mattern on Hudson Yards as Informational City - Assignment 2 due: Research paper or creative/design project Course Texts: All course readings will be made available as PDFs. Course material includes extracts and chapters from the following texts: - Marc Augé, Non-Place: An Introduction to Supermodernity (London: Verso, 2009). 
 - Jonathan Crary, 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep (New York: Verso, 2014). 
 - Michel Foucault, “Of Other Spaces,” October (1984). 
 - Joseph Heathcott, “The Promenade Plantée: Politics, Planning, and Urban Design in Post- Industrial Paris,” Journal of Planning Education and Research 33.2 (2013): 280-291. 
 - Christoph Lindner and Brian Rosa (eds), Deconstructing the High Line (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, forthcoming 2017). 
 - Christoph Lindner (ed.), Globalization, Violence, and the Visual Culture of Cities (London: Routledge, 2009). 
 - Paul Virilio, City of Panic (London: Bloomsbury, 2007).