Arts district
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, dance clubs, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually encouraged by public policy-making and planning, but sometimes occurs spontaneously. It is associated with allied service-industry jobs like cafes, printers, fashion outlets, restaurants, and a variety of 'discreet services' (see the back-page small-ads of almost any cultural events-listings magazine).
There may also be some artists' studios located in nearby back-streets. But, as Richard Florida has found from his research, cultural production facilities are often better sited some miles away from cultural consumption facilities - except in some very tolerant cities and in countries where a boisterous alcohol-based nightlife scene does not lead to aggressive and anti-social behaviour.
In the UK the term used is "Cultural quarter" or "Arts quarter".
Notable arts districts in the USA include:
- Arts District of Dallas, Texas
- Noho Arts District of Los Angeles, California
- Pearl District of Portland, Oregon
[edit] See also
- Urban regeneration
- Creative industries
- Cultural industries
- Richard Florida
- Creative class
