The new partner on the block : an unfamiliar role for arts and cultural organizations in community economic development

This thesis looks at three case studies of arts and cultural organizations in New York City that have chosen to go beyond their traditional roles and business-as-usual practices to engage in community economic development in their neighborhoods. The cases include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a performance arts center; the Heart of Brooklyn, a consortium of cultural institutions; and the Bronx Council on the Arts, a quasi-public arts service organization. An important finding of this thesis is that arts and cultural organizations have much to offer to urban communities like other private players such as foundations, corporations and universities, and they may be the new community partner on the block. The case studies show that these nonprofits are interested and can take part in a wide variety of community economic development activities: physical development, neighborhood and commercial revitalization, and job training. The evidence also suggests that these organizations are more prone to take on place-based projects since they are increasingly dependent on their own revenue sources and are interested in upgrading their neighborhoods to build audiences.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Lee, Helen Chongmin

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Susan C. Silberberg.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40125

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40125