Creative Placemaking and Neighborhood Revitalization in the United States: A Literature-Based Review of Economic, Social and Equity Outcomes
Abstract
Since 2010, creative placemaking has become the most visible arts-based development policy in the United States, promoted by the National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations and city governments as a way of renewing neighborhoods through arts, culture and design. This study reviewed the published literature to establish what is known about the economic, social and equity outcomes of creative placemaking in American neighborhoods. Although the arts and cultural sector contributed US$1.17 trillion to the national economy in 2023, the neighborhood-level benefits claimed for arts-led development remain contested, and critics link it to gentrification and the displacement of long-term residents. The study adopted a desk-based integrative literature review of peer-reviewed articles, scholarly books and institutional reports on United States cases, analyzed thematically under four headings: economic outcomes, social outcomes, equity outcomes and measurement. The review found that cultural districts and arts clusters are consistently associated with higher property values, incomes and employment; that cultural assets are associated with stronger social connection and wellbeing, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods; and that the link between the arts and displacement is weaker and more conditional than commonly assumed, varying with the type of arts activity and the local housing market. It also found that outcome measurement is weak and that benefits are unevenly distributed. The study concludes that creative placemaking is a useful but not self-sufficient revitalization tool whose results depend on community control and housing policy. It recommends that funders and city governments pair arts investment with anti-displacement measures, support resident-led cultural organizations, and fund long-term, mixed-method evaluation.
Keywords: Creative placemaking, neighborhood revitalization, cultural districts, gentrification, arts policy, United States
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