“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing."
- Arundhati Roy, novelist

Recent academic research at one of the nation’s leading universities confirms the long-term, measurable social and economic benefits of cultural participation for neighborhoods and for cities. This research provides a strong, documented case for the community-building capacity of arts and cultural activities to foster revitalization.

The Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP) at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1994 with the purpose of gathering systematic data on the role of arts and cultural activity on the life of cities. The quotes in this section are taken from the Summary of Findings, issued in March of 2001, and Culture Builds Community Evaluation Summary Report issued in January 2002. See SIAP’s Summary of Findings in Appendix D.

The report states that “there is substantial evidence that culture contributes to neighborhood revitalization.” Some specifics:

• Urban neighborhoods with a history of cultural engagement were significantly more likely to experience declines in poverty than other neighborhoods.
• There is a clear spill over effect between arts and cultural activities and other forms of community engagement. Those community residents who were most involved in cultural activities were about 50 percent more likely to be involved in other community activities than the average respondent.
• The presence of cultural organizations had a significant impact on the likelihood that a diverse neighborhood would remain diverse ten years later. The arts serve as one means of moving a neighborhood from accidental to intentional diversity.
• Researchers found a clear relationship between respondents’ cultural participation rates and satisfaction with their neighborhood’s quality of life.
• Cultural engagement changes more than attitudes. It has a clear and significant relationship to indexes of social well-being. For example, among low-income neighborhoods, those with high levels of cultural participation were five times more likely to have very low levels of delinquency and three times more likely to have very low rates of truancy. “The outward ripple effects of community cultural activity improve the lives of residents even if they have never taken an arts class or attended a performance. These effects are evident in the improved economic circumstances of their neighborhoods. They appear in the sense of community engagement and efficacy that cultural participation stimulates. They are redefining the meaning of community in . . . cities through the stability of diverse neighborhoods.”
• “Cultural participation provides a means through which diverse neighborhoods are strengthened. Cultural participation tends to reach across neighborhood boundaries by providing bridges across barriers of social class and ethnicity . . . Because a strong community cultural sector promotes stability in diverse neighborhoods and frequency of contacts across social class and ethnic barriers, investments in the arts pay substantial, multiple dividends. The recognition of the centrality of diverse neighborhoods to the twenty-first century city, by the same token, provides a clear rationale for public investment in all aspects of the community cultural system.”
• “By fostering participation across the divides of social class and ethnicity, cultural activities make a unique contribution to overcoming exclusion and fostering revitalization.”

As outlined in the University of Pennsylvania study, widespread community cultural engagement can help counter decline and disinvestment and restore the communities to vibrant places to live and work.

A report titled The Impact of Arts Education on Workforce Preparation, from the National Governor's Association states that

"The arts provide one alternative for states looking to build the workforce of tomorrow - a choice growing in popularity and esteem. The arts can provide effective learning opportunities to the general student population, yielding increased academic performance, reduced absenteeism, and better skill-building. An even more compelling advantage is the striking success of arts-based educational programs among disadvantaged populations, especially at-risk . . . youth. For at-risk youth, the arts contribute to lower recidivism rates; increased self-esteem; the acquisition of job skills; and the development of much needed creative thinking, problem solving and communications skills. Involvement in the arts is one avenue by which at-risk youth can acquire the various competencies necessary to become economically self-sufficient over the long term, rather than becoming a financial strain on their states and communities . . . a money-and time-saving option for states looking to build skills, increase academic success, heighten standardized test scores, and lower the incidence of crime among general and at-risk populations."

These findings all suggest that any comprehensive revitalization plan should include ways to expand cultural participation and strengthen the cultural sector.

Shared Vision public artworks are important contributors to social growth and change, influencing perceptions of the community and of one’s place in the world. They instill self-confidence and pride, encouraging tradition, innovation and diversity to thrive side-by-side. Because their themes are drawn from the creative input of the public, they extend social benefits deeply into each segment of the community, and they highlight the value of living in a pluralistic society. All the murals have remained remarkably free from vandalism over the last decade, demonstrating a widespread sense of ownership and affection for these works among residents.

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