This summary flyer provides an overview of the publications produced as part of the Culture and Community Revitalization project. The SIAP - Reinvestment Fund collaboration was undertaken from 2006 to 2008 with support by the Rockefeller Foundation.
http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization

Seifert, Susan C

Stern, Mark J

English

ScholarlyCommons@Penn

University of PennsylvaniaScholarlyCommonsCulture and Community Revitalization: ACollaboration Social Impact of the Arts Project8-2011Culture and Community Revitalization: AFramework for the Emerging Field of Culture-Based Neighborhood RevitalizationMark J. SternUniversity of Pennsylvania, stern@sp2.upenn.eduSusan C. SeifertUniversity of Pennsylvania, seiferts@upenn.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalizationPart of the Arts and Humanities Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, andthe Urban Studies and Planning CommonsThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10For more information, please contact repository@pobox.upenn.edu.Stern, Mark J. and Seifert, Susan C., "Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the Emerging Field of Culture-BasedNeighborhood Revitalization" (2011). Culture and Community Revitalization: A Collaboration. 10.http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the EmergingField of Culture-Based Neighborhood RevitalizationAbstractThis summary flyer provides an overview of the publications produced as part of the Culture and CommunityRevitalization project. The SIAP - Reinvestment Fund collaboration was undertaken from 2006 to 2008 withsupport by the Rockefeller Foundation.http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/DisciplinesArts and Humanities | Civic and Community Engagement | Urban Studies and PlanningThis research brief is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10  1 l Rev Aug 2011      Culture and Community Revitalization  A framework for the emerging field of culture-based neighborhood revitalization   ABOUT THE PARTNERS  Social Impact of the Arts Project University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice 3701 Locust Walk Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214 Tel 215.573.7270 www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP The Social Impact of the Arts Project is a research group at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice.  Since 1994 SIAP has conducted research on the role of the arts and culture in U.S. cities with a particular interest in arts-based neighborhood revitalization. SIAP is a recognized innovator in the development of empirical methods to study links between cultural engagement and community change.    The Reinvestment Fund 1700 Market Street, 19th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 www.trfund.com TRF is a national leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization. A development financial corporation with a wealth building agenda for low- and moderate-income people and places, TRF uses its assets to finance housing, community facilities, commercial real estate and business and public policy research across the Mid-Atlantic. TRF conducts research and analysis on policy issues that influence neighborhood revitalization and economic growth both to help it identify opportunities to invest its own resources and to help public sector and private clients with their own strategies to preserve and rebuild vulnerable communities.  The Rockefeller Foundation The SIAP-TRF collaboration was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.   Between 2006 and 2008, Penn’s Social Impact of the Arts Project collaborated with The Reinvestment Fund, a community development financial institution, on an investigation of the creative sector’s potential contribution to neighborhood economic and community development. The staff of TRF challenged SIAP to identify how its research findings on the role of the arts and culture in urban communities could be applied to the practice of place-making and revitalization, while SIAP challenged TRF to redefine how they think about the creative sector.   Through the collaboration, TRF and SIAP arrived at a common perspective. We agreed that today’s urban policy environment requires us to consider a wider range of “players” in the development of strategies and that the gap between policy-makers and practitioners has narrowed. We agreed that an ecological approach that focuses on how different elements of the cultural sector interact in the process of place-making is the most productive starting point for the emerging field of culture-based revitalization. Finally, we endorsed the need to integrate policy, research, and practice to advance this field.  The collaboration produced a critical review of the literature on culture and revitalization, a set of policy briefs, and a prospectus for community investment. (See descriptions on back of page.)    For more information, contact: Susan C. Seifert, SIAP Director E-mail: seifert@sp2.upenn.edu Mark J. Stern, SIAP Principal Investigator Kenneth L. M. Pray Professor of Social Policy  Co-Director, Urban Studies Program  University of Pennsylvania E-mail: stern@sp2.upenn.edu        2 l Rev Aug 2011   Culture and Community Revitalization A framework for the emerging field of culture-based neighborhood revitalization              ____  Below are descriptions of the literature review, policy briefs, and community investment prospectus produced by the SIAP-TRF collaboration. Copies of these documents can be downloaded from the SIAP website at www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP.      A Critical Review of the Literature  Culture and Urban Revitalization: A Harvest Document Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, January 2007 This SIAP report serves as the foundation study for the TRF-SIAP collaboration and writings. The Harvest Document provides a critical review of the state-of-the-art research on culture and revitalization, in particular, two streams of literature—economic impact and community building. SIAP proposes an ecological model that recognizes the interdependence of the economic and social benefits of the arts as a guide to research, policy, and practice in the emerging field of culture-based revitalization.  Policy Briefs From Creative Economy to Creative Society Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, January 2008 This brief uses a social policy lens to look at the impact and potential of the creative economy for urban neighborhoods. While the growth of the creative sector is helping to regenerate regional economies, it is also exacerbating economic inequality and social exclusion among urban residents. SIAP proposes a new model–a neighborhood-based creative economy–as a way to move the 21st century city toward shared prosperity and social integration. Cultivating “Natural” Cultural Districts Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, September 2007 This brief uses research on urban culture and community arts to make a case for culture-based revitalization from the bottom up. The brief highlights a particular kind of social network—the geographically-defined networks made possible by a density of cultural assets in particular neighborhoods. Because “natural” cultural districts evolve through the self-organized efforts of local players, the challenge for policy-makers is how to nurture these enterprises in a way that maximizes community benefits. Migrants, Communities, and Culture    Mark J. Stern, Susan C. Seifert, and Domenic Vitiello,  January 2008   The brief looks at the role of migrant cultural expression in urban neighborhoods, existing institutional barriers, and how migrants’ adaptation to their social marginality is changing “mainstream” culture.  For newcomers and other groups, culture can be an important vehicle for social integration. A century ago, the settlement house movement used culture to link immigrants to opportunities in education, employment, and health care. Can the arts play a similar role today?  Community Investment Prospectus Creativity and Neighborhood Development: Strategies for Community Investment Jeremy Nowak, December 2007 This TRF document argues that the intrinsic value of arts and culture can be a key ingredient in neighborhood revitalization by nurturing a wide range of local assets, building social capital, and promoting entrepreneurial and civic growth. Nowak calls for investing in community-based creative activity to enhance its place-making role and potential. He recommends that investment focus on three areas: creativity, development, and knowledge.  The Power of Place-making Jeremy Nowak, December 2007 This document presents a summary of Creativity and Neighborhood Development: Strategies for Community Investment. Crane Arts: Financing Artists’ Workspace The Reinvestment Fund, August 2007 One surprise outcome of the collaboration was TRF’s realization that it already had been investing in the cultural sector. In fact, around 8 percent of its total portfolio consists of creative sector projects. This brief discusses the conversion of an old factory into artist workspace and examines the project’s impact on the neighborhood and the arts community.   

Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the Emerging Field of Culture-Based Neighborhood Revitalization

Kosmopolis

University of Pennsylvania
ScholarlyCommons
Culture and Community Revitalization: A
Collaboration Social Impact of the Arts Project
8-2011
Culture and Community Revitalization: A
Framework for the Emerging Field of Culture-
Based Neighborhood Revitalization
Mark J. Stern
University of Pennsylvania, stern@sp2.upenn.edu
Susan C. Seifert
University of Pennsylvania, seiferts@upenn.edu
Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization
Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, and
the Urban Studies and Planning Commons
This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10
For more information, please contact repository@pobox.upenn.edu.
Stern, Mark J. and Seifert, Susan C., "Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the Emerging Field of Culture-Based
Neighborhood Revitalization" (2011). Culture and Community Revitalization: A Collaboration. 10.
http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10
Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the Emerging
Field of Culture-Based Neighborhood Revitalization
Abstract
This summary flyer provides an overview of the publications produced as part of the Culture and Community
Revitalization project. The SIAP - Reinvestment Fund collaboration was undertaken from 2006 to 2008 with
support by the Rockefeller Foundation.
http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Civic and Community Engagement | Urban Studies and Planning
This research brief is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/siap_revitalization/10
  1 l Rev Aug 2011 
 
    Culture and Community Revitalization  
A framework for the emerging field of culture-based neighborhood revitalization 
 
 
ABOUT THE PARTNERS 
 
Social Impact of the Arts Project 
University of Pennsylvania 
School of Social Policy & Practice 
3701 Locust Walk 
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214 
Tel 215.573.7270 
www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP 
The Social Impact of the Arts Project is a research 
group at the University of Pennsylvania’s School 
of Social Policy & Practice.  Since 1994 SIAP has 
conducted research on the role of the arts and 
culture in U.S. cities with a particular interest in 
arts-based neighborhood revitalization. SIAP is a 
recognized innovator in the development of 
empirical methods to study links between cultural 
engagement and community change.  
 
 
The Reinvestment Fund 
1700 Market Street, 19th Floor 
Philadelphia, PA 19103 
www.trfund.com 
TRF is a national leader in the financing of 
neighborhood revitalization. A development 
financial corporation with a wealth building 
agenda for low- and moderate-income people and 
places, TRF uses its assets to finance housing, 
community facilities, commercial real estate and 
business and public policy research across the 
Mid-Atlantic. TRF conducts research and analysis 
on policy issues that influence neighborhood 
revitalization and economic growth both to help it 
identify opportunities to invest its own resources 
and to help public sector and private clients with 
their own strategies to preserve and rebuild 
vulnerable communities. 
 
The Rockefeller Foundation 
The SIAP-TRF collaboration was supported by the 
Rockefeller Foundation. 
 
 
Between 2006 and 2008, Penn’s Social Impact of 
the Arts Project collaborated with The 
Reinvestment Fund, a community development 
financial institution, on an investigation of the 
creative sector’s potential contribution to 
neighborhood economic and community 
development. The staff of TRF challenged SIAP 
to identify how its research findings on the role of 
the arts and culture in urban communities could 
be applied to the practice of place-making and 
revitalization, while SIAP challenged TRF to 
redefine how they think about the creative sector.  
 
Through the collaboration, TRF and SIAP arrived 
at a common perspective. We agreed that today’s 
urban policy environment requires us to consider a 
wider range of “players” in the development of 
strategies and that the gap between policy-makers 
and practitioners has narrowed. We agreed that an 
ecological approach that focuses on how different 
elements of the cultural sector interact in the 
process of place-making is the most productive 
starting point for the emerging field of culture-
based revitalization. Finally, we endorsed the 
need to integrate policy, research, and practice to 
advance this field. 
 
The collaboration produced a critical review of 
the literature on culture and revitalization, a set of 
policy briefs, and a prospectus for community 
investment. (See descriptions on back of page.) 
 
 
 
For more information, contact: 
Susan C. Seifert, SIAP Director 
E-mail: seifert@sp2.upenn.edu 
Mark J. Stern, SIAP Principal Investigator 
Kenneth L. M. Pray Professor of Social Policy  
Co-Director, Urban Studies Program  
University of Pennsylvania 
E-mail: stern@sp2.upenn.edu 
 
      2 l Rev Aug 2011  
 
Culture and Community Revitalization 
A framework for the emerging field of culture-based neighborhood revitalization 
             ____  
Below are descriptions of the literature review, policy briefs, and community investment prospectus produced by 
the SIAP-TRF collaboration. Copies of these documents can be downloaded from the SIAP website at 
www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP.    
 
 
A Critical Review of the Literature  
Culture and Urban Revitalization: A Harvest 
Document 
Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, January 2007 
This SIAP report serves as the foundation study for 
the TRF-SIAP collaboration and writings. The 
Harvest Document provides a critical review of the 
state-of-the-art research on culture and 
revitalization, in particular, two streams of 
literature—economic impact and community 
building. SIAP proposes an ecological model that 
recognizes the interdependence of the economic and 
social benefits of the arts as a guide to research, 
policy, and practice in the emerging field of culture-
based revitalization. 
 
Policy Briefs 
From Creative Economy to Creative Society 
Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, January 2008 
This brief uses a social policy lens to look at the 
impact and potential of the creative economy for 
urban neighborhoods. While the growth of the 
creative sector is helping to regenerate regional 
economies, it is also exacerbating economic 
inequality and social exclusion among urban 
residents. SIAP proposes a new model–a 
neighborhood-based creative economy–as a way to 
move the 21st century city toward shared prosperity 
and social integration. 
Cultivating “Natural” Cultural Districts 
Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert, September 2007 
This brief uses research on urban culture and 
community arts to make a case for culture-based 
revitalization from the bottom up. The brief 
highlights a particular kind of social network—the 
geographically-defined networks made possible by a 
density of cultural assets in particular 
neighborhoods. Because “natural” cultural districts 
evolve through the self-organized efforts of local 
players, the challenge for policy-makers is how to 
nurture these enterprises in a way that maximizes 
community benefits. 
Migrants, Communities, and Culture    
Mark J. Stern, Susan C. Seifert, and Domenic Vitiello,  
January 2008   
The brief looks at the role of migrant cultural 
expression in urban neighborhoods, existing 
institutional barriers, and how migrants’ adaptation 
to their social marginality is changing “mainstream” 
culture.  For newcomers and other groups, culture 
can be an important vehicle for social integration. A 
century ago, the settlement house movement used 
culture to link immigrants to opportunities in 
education, employment, and health care. Can the 
arts play a similar role today? 
 
Community Investment Prospectus 
Creativity and Neighborhood Development: 
Strategies for Community Investment 
Jeremy Nowak, December 2007 
This TRF document argues that the intrinsic value 
of arts and culture can be a key ingredient in 
neighborhood revitalization by nurturing a wide 
range of local assets, building social capital, and 
promoting entrepreneurial and civic growth. Nowak 
calls for investing in community-based creative 
activity to enhance its place-making role and 
potential. He recommends that investment focus on 
three areas: creativity, development, and knowledge.  
The Power of Place-making 
Jeremy Nowak, December 2007 
This document presents a summary of Creativity 
and Neighborhood Development: Strategies for 
Community Investment. 
Crane Arts: Financing Artists’ Workspace 
The Reinvestment Fund, August 2007 
One surprise outcome of the collaboration was 
TRF’s realization that it already had been investing 
in the cultural sector. In fact, around 8 percent of its 
total portfolio consists of creative sector 
projects. This brief discusses the conversion of an 
old factory into artist workspace and examines the 
project’s impact on the neighborhood and the arts 
community. 
 
 


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Culture and Community Revitalization: A Framework for the Emerging Field of Culture-Based Neighborhood Revitalization

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