CREATIVE CITY NEWSLETTER: NOVEMBER 2003

ISSUE 9: DESIGN AND PLANNING

ISSUE IN FOCUS: The Link Between Gays And Gentrification
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Nation’s First Elected Planning Director
The Mid-Size City: Exploring its Unique Place
in Urban Policy
CREATIVE CORNER: Is Your City ‘Cool’?
Perks to Lure Students
Knowledge Maps: An urban Board Game
CREATIVE CITY COMMUNITIES: What have they been up to?
ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Innovative Ideas for the Creative Economy
with a special section on Youth Space:
Creating Safe Spaces With, For, and By Youth
UPCOMING EVENTS: All upcoming events including National Visual
Arts Conference, May 2004

Greetings Creative City Participants!

November 2003

Dear Colleagues,

As the year pushes on Partners for Livable Communities continues to work on the culmination of the Creative City program with publications, programs, and ideas.

It has become apparent through our discussions with a number of the Creative City contacts that they believe the program is dormant. Please help us anew by passing along any contact information you may have for Creative City participant contacts. We want to have regular communication and an updated mailing list and email roster of our creative city contacts so we that can let you know that we are well and concrete things are happening.

I appreciate those cities that have continued to share ideas for the Creative City program or pass along exciting events, going-ons or press relating to Creative City that have taken place in their city. All of us at Partners send out a big thank-you for your active role and commitment to this project.

Included in this month’s newsletter is information on what Partners is currently undertaking related to the Creative City, announcements of special events, as well as updates on what interesting and new things some of the Creative City participant cities have been doing this year.

CREATIVE CITY CURRENT PROJECTS

Partners has been working on Creative City publications to share with our participants. The three main projects approaching fruition are the Creative City Year 2 Report; a Creative City Anthology; and the Creative City Policy Report showing the evolution of our thinking.

• The Creative City Year 2 Report is a look at each city’s best practices and collaborative works with Partners since the program’s inception.
• The Creative City Anthology will be a collection of insightful perspectives from the field that relate to issues of the Creative City.
• The Creative City Policy Report, will be a publication of all the forums and conferences Partners has hosted with our Creative City participants. This book’s intended use is for participants to follow the purpose, policy reports, discussion and findings of each summit as our policy and research has evolved.
• A Fall 2005 Creative City National Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, once merely a penciled-in date on the calendar, is now forming from out the mist. Plans are underway for the format and participants of the Conference, and Robert McNulty will shortly be traveling down to Charlotte to meet with Mayor Patrick McCrory and put together a working group for this program.

NEW CONCEPTS

YOUTHSPACE

For several years, Partners has believed that a national forum exploring how we design, plan, and maintain gathering places for young people in our communities is a high priority. As we put the final touches on the outline for our Creative City policy report, we believe that Youth Space is a critical issue for any city that wishes to advance a creativity agenda and set a standard of leadership for others to emulate.

We urge a Creative City participant to step forward and join with Partners and other organizations in hosting a national working forum on how to design, plan, maintain, and support gathering places for young people in our cities and downtowns across America.

This youth agenda is a critical element of leadership and opportunity that has yet to be addressed. I am hoping that we can gain a partner for sponsorship and outreach that could lead to a national forum, publication, technical assistance support, and "branding" opportunity for the community that steps forward to take the lead in this area. Please see newsletter for more information on YOUTH SPACE: Creating Safe Spaces With, For, and By Youth.

HOLD THE DATE!!!

AMERICA’S MOST LIVABLE CITIES AWARDS

Partners has once again convened a jury of livability and creativity experts to select "America’s Most Livable" Cities. We have nominated all of our Creative City participants. Please join us in March 2004 in inaugurating our new class of "America’s Most Livable" at the National Press Club and the unveiling of…

America’s Most Livable Web Site

This fall will be filled with website development, writing, and research, for our major marketing campaign and overhaul of our "America’s Most Livable" website (www.livableamerica.com) that will highlight these cities and call them to the attention of urban strategists, as well as media and marketing resources across the country. As a participant of this visible and highly linked website, the public and researchers will easily be able to use these communities as examples of what is working and what leadership is being showcased in the American community as we move forward into the Creative Economy.

AGING IN PLACE

I mentioned this in the past newsletter, but include it again as a reminder. Partners has entered into a collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A) to develop a national initiative on Aging in Place. This 18-month initiative will engage communities by identifying key stakeholders, funders and opportunities surrounding this issue; offer hands-on technical assistance; assist communities in maintaining momentum of the Aging in Place program; and conclude with a preparation and dissemination of "blueprints" based on different sized cities and issue leaders on Aging in Place. As one of America’s exemplary communities, we encourage each of you to take a lead in rethinking your community’s needs and consider joining us in this partnership to develop a group of national "blueprints" on Aging in Place. Contact me for more information.

NATIONAL VISUAL ART CENTER CONFERENCE, May 2004

We have been asked by the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA through Marian Van Landingham, Trustee Emeritus of Partners, to co-sponsor a National Conference "Unconventional Convention: Starting and Operating a Visual Arts Center" on May 21-22, 2004. Robert McNulty will be chairing a session on Tourism and Community Development.

I include this conference information also as a reminder of how many great ideas exist on how to "creatively" hold conferences, as well as support your artistic community. Please see newsletter for more information on this event in Upcoming Events section. (Please link to Press release about event called Torpedo Factory under the words Upcoming Events)

This edition is full of additional links. I have included a section on each of our participant cities for which we have information including interesting updates and contact information.

Our Issue in Focus is an innovative idea for Urban Revival that every city can use. I have also compiled a list of Articles of Interest to Creative City participants in the same format. Other regular features such as a list of Upcoming Events, links to Creative Cities in the News, and our regular features: News You Can Use and the Creative Corner, are also found in this issue. I hope you will find these both useful and interesting in relations to your Creative City endeavors.

Best regards,

Irene