The Rise of Creative Placemaking

​This article situates the emergence of the “creative placemaking” policy initiative as the coordinated continuation of longstanding artistic practices and a reaction to scant funding in the United States. In contrast to creative class policies, creative placemaking proposes a broader set of outcomes, attempts to directly address issues of inequality, and expands the role of artists in society. However, these characteristics entail several challenges for stakeholders: difficulties in devising recognized outcome metrics due to the wide variety of projects; inadvertent reproduction of inequities; and limited opportunities for scaling due to inter-occupational competition. The article concludes with implications for future research.