Case studies are based on projects by MAPC and other public, non-profit, and private organizations in Massachusetts, New England and throughout the US. They are divided into three themes for cultural planning, creative placemaking, and public arts & culture. Use
Natick Creative Placemaking Strategy and Demonstration
OVERVIEW In 2017, the Town of Natick approached the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)’s Arts & Culture team with a request for a Creative Placemaking Strategy that would improve the breadth and quality of arts and cultural experiences, and would
Creative Engagement
What Is Creative Engagement? OVERVIEW Creative engagement is an approach to community engagement that uses creative tools and artistic experiences to help diverse stakeholders imagine new approaches to planning processes and spark creative problem solving. Creative engagement can touch every aspect of the planning process. It may frame
Case Study: 4Culture
Overview: 4Culture is the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington. Using public resources, they implement projects in four core program areas: arts, heritage, historic preservation, and public art. Context: 4Culture is a municipal corporation that was chartered by King
Case Study: Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Overview: The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture is the City of Seattle’s executive office managing the city’s public art program, arts education program, art and cultural grant programs, racial equity programs, and the Langston Hughes Preforming Arts Institute. This
Socially Engaged Art & Civic Practice
Socially Engaged Art and Civic Art Practices OVERVIEW Since the 1960’s a proliferation of practices have been born into being that describe different ways of improving physical places through social interventions. The wealth of words like placemaking, placekeeping, public design,
Public Art
Public Art OVERVIEW Public art is any type of art intended for public spaces or the public realm. It is typically created by artists who “endeavor to generate dialogue with the community, at times about the issues central to their
Artist Residencies
Artist Residencies OVERVIEW Governmental and cultural entities may embed artists within their organizations in order to explore new ideas and ways of working. In this context artists often function as social practitioners, combining the traditional roles of an artist, community organizer,
Tactical Urbanism
Tactical Urbanism OVERVIEW Tactical urbanism refers to the approach of implementing short-term, low-cost, and scalable demonstration projects that test alternatives to infrastructure, design, and uses in the public realm. This term was coined by planner Mike Lydon and is grounded
Cultural Planning
Cultural Planning OVERVIEW Cultural planning is a place-based planning process that generates a vision and action plan for strengthening and growing arts and culture assets. Cultural plans may include goals and strategies that address topics including: social cohesion; community engagement;