Now open: Intersections 2018 — call for session proposals

The National Complete Streets Coalition and Transportation for America’s Arts & Culture team are currently seeking session proposals for “Intersections: Creating Culturally Complete Streets,” the second national Complete Streets conference.

Complete Streets Creative Placemaking

Engaging east Portland to plan a more inclusive bus rapid transit line

When roughly 14 miles of a bus rapid transit line was proposed along Division Street in East Portland, the effort was greeted with interest in an often-neglected area of the city, but also concern about the possibilities of displacement and development poorly engaged with the unique local culture. To address those concerns, community members throughout the Jade and Division Midway districts were engaged through arts and culture projects to recalibrate the plan to better serve community needs.

Creative Placemaking

El Paso’s Transnational Trolley: How art can help imagine creative transportation solutions

What begun as a sort of arts-driven guerilla marketing campaign for the fictional return of a historic streetcar in the border communities of El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, is becoming a reality, illustrating the power of the arts to capture the imagination of a community and help them look at old problems in different ways and imagine creative solutions.

Creative Placemaking

September is arts and culture month at Smart Growth America

Throughout the rest of September, we’ll be celebrating the positive impact that arts and culture can have on our communities through a handful of inspiring local stories. The month will culminate with the release of a new examination of creative placemaking by our Transportation for America program in partnership with ArtPlace America.

Creative Placemaking

An overview of training programs for artists and civic/transportation collaboration

In cities across the country, artists are helping to solve civic problems. Whether it’s bringing people to an empty plaza through performance, improving navigation options through better design, or connecting neighborhoods through interactive installations, artists bring a unique perspective to many municipal challenges.

Artists and civic professionals do not always speak the same language, however. These two groups often answer to different stakeholders and work along different timelines. With the proliferation of new programs integrating arts and culture into community development—like municipally sponsored artist-in-residence programs—artists and cultural producers need to be trained to work with government agencies and community members, and to inhabit interdisciplinary roles that extend beyond the traditional duties of an artist.

Creative Placemaking Transportation