Creative Placemaking

Arts were once dismissed by many public officials and local activists as a frill, a nice thing perhaps but not essential when you are busy saving neighborhoods, building affordable housing, creating jobs.  But that view faded in the spotlight of national attention on Creative Placemaking success stories like the High Line in New York City, the Cultural Trail in Indianapolis and the Village of Arts & Humanities in Philadelphia.

“Arts and culture is powerful because it can give voice to the people living in a place, inspiring their own creativity,” explains Erik Takeshita, co-leader of a new Creative Placemaking project at the Local Initiative Support Corporation.  “Art has a unique capacity to help people re-imagine the place they live.” 

http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/whats-all-the-buzz-about-creative-placemaking

The Cultural Trail in Indianapolis shows one example - from:

http://indyculturaltrail.org/

Stormwater planters are structures with open bottoms and specific plant species, which enable stormwater to slowly drain into the ground.

These planters reduce stormwater runoff, flow rate, volume and pollutants, and recharge the groundwater.