Developing urban arts districts: An analysis of mobilization in Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Seattle

Since the 1960s, cities have promoted a form of arts economic development, Arts Anchored Redevelopment Districts (AARD), to revitalize urban areas by building and programming large performance and visual arts institutions in a circumscribed location. In doing so, they expend sizable resources, cover significant portions of land, and engage in multi-sector collaboration and intergovernmental coordination. AARD efforts are highly controversial. Some question whether they are worth the expense, while others hail AARD as a cornerstone policy for city and district regeneration. Examining fifty years of experience, this study seeks to determine if AARD has been viable public policy for pursuing urban revitalization, with a viable policy defined as one that meets economic development goals, adapts to changing conditions over time, and is capable of implementation. To test AARD as a viable policy, this dissertation answers the following questions: How and why do cities mobilize around AARD? Is AARD a more suitable strategy for some places than others? Does AARD work as an economic development and planning strategy? Through an examination of AARD in five cities, Dallas, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, this research addresses these three questions by (1) documenting the history and development of each AARD, (2) synthesizing the cases to draw conclusions about what attributes are necessary for AARD success, and (3) testing each AARD against the five traditional goals of arts economic development and planning. The findings demonstrate that AARD is viable policy, especially when it is diverse, dynamic, and fine-grained. These AARDs differ in their level of success, an effective AARDs are a product of mobilization that is ongoing, flexible, opportunistic, and well-funded. As such, places that are more likely to excel are those that go beyond building the AARD by continuing to adapt to changing conditions and capitalizing on nearby assets. The study shows that cities with previous investment in the arts, defined as an arts competitive advantage, can positively influence the pace and shape of development. However, it also demonstrates that sustained mobilization can overcome a city\u27s arts-poor status, to some extent. The study concludes that although AARD can be viable public policy for urban revitalization, in most cases it has not lived up to its full potential. Explanations for this include: the failure to embrace economic development and planning goals or to mobilize support, the inability to overcome external economic conditions, and the relative newness of some of these efforts, resulting in a lack of a record strong enough for full assessment