Issue #185

If you look at what Rip Rapson has accomplished and the insight he brings to his current work, you’ll get a much better picture of who he is and the challenging work he spearheads at the Kresge Foundation.

When the federal government required the mills of Cohoes to hire “colored” workers or lose war contracts, the mills relented but Cohoes maintained its segregation. Workers of color settled across the river in North Troy.

In Minneapolis and Boston, artists help explore the losses (and gains) of foreclosure with work that supports advocacy and community building.

Coming mere days after the election, the reference to the famous Audre Lorde declaration, “Art gives us tools other than the master’s tools,” felt apropos. The people in the room were ready to hear any message of hope. I was no exception.

A nonprofit forgoes the typical community meeting for a “living charrette,” which leads to greater neighborhood feedback about a proposed 24-acre development in Austin, Texas.

Do not hate them. Do not be angry with them: The real estate agents, appraising the value of other peoples lives, calculating the profit that someone’s home of twenty years, […]

Yes, Your Honor, there are rodents, said the landlord to the judge, but I let the tenant have a cat. Besides, he stacks his tires in the hallway.

Attendees at the 2015 PolicyLink Equity Summit experienced something unexpected when they walked into many of the panels and workshops: a poetry performance.

In response to an influx of high-profile street art, one Brooklyn community development organization decided to invest in homegrown art and artists, and learn how to support them.

Having had the experience of public art with no public involvement, a community organization set out to show there could be another way.

For over 30 years, Broadway Housing Communities has developed its own formula for meeting the housing needs of West Harlem’s lowest-income residents. One of its unorthodox ingredients has been art galleries, and now, there’s a children’s museum in its newest building.

How a Denver organization intends to create a 9-mile art-, health-, and heritage-themed bike and pedestrian trail that will feature authentic cultural expression.

A: No! A long-running program in Philadelphia is showing that scattered site rehab can be cheaper and have a larger revitalizing effect at the same time.

New Orleans relies on its artists as a core part of its economy. What can be done when those artists can no longer afford to call the city home?

In the wake of rapid gentrification, an organization in Los Angeles leverages the arts to celebrate a community’s rich heritage and keep social equity as a priority. But what is the core character of Little Tokyo?

Who has been behind the large increase in financial support for and attention to what has been termed “creative placemaking” over the past couple years, and why?