Creative Places
Public Perceptions of Arts, Culture, and Economic Development in Gateway Cities
This poll was commissioned by MassINC as part of a newly-funded initiative to create a leadership network around the role of the arts in the economic revitalization of Gateway Cities, a strategy the National Endowment for the Arts calls “creative placemaking.” The survey, given to 600 registered voters among the eleven Gateway Cities, informs that effort by gauging voters’ perceptions of the arts and their impact on quality of life and economic development in these communities. Voter opinion will shape what is politically feasible at the local level, and could either spur leaders to take bold action in the creative placemaking arena or prevent them from doing so. The survey also captured their personal participation in a range of cultural and artistic pursuits, with voters reporting high levels of participation overall.