Cleveland Urban Design

Art installation at Bridge Mix, photo by Stephen Piscura

The CUDC’s Pop Up City initiative, Arts Collinwood and other Cleveland arts organizations were highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article about artist communities developing in blighted neighborhoods.  Although there’s nothing new about artists moving into low-rent areas, the recent foreclosure crisis is motivating communities to increase incentives for artists: 

Drawn by available spaces and cheap rents, artists are filling in some of the neighborhoods being emptied by foreclosures. City officials and community groups seeking ways to stop the rash of vacancies are offering them incentives to move in, from low rents and mortgages to creative control over renovation projects.

Some of the local organizations mentioned in the article include:

Arts Collinwood :: Collinwood

78th St. Studios :: Detroit Shoreway

ArtMart 09 :: Ohio City

DanceWorks @ CPT :: Detroit Shoreway

Pop Up City

Building Bridges

ArtSpace Cleveland

Also check out this set of Collinwood photos from the Plain Dealer.

by david jurca