1. Setting the Stage for Community Change: Reflecting on Creative Placemaking Outcomes
Sarah Lee
President, Slover Linett Audience Research Americans for the Arts Research Round-Up June 16, 2017

2. the question
How do we know if the Levitt Foundation’s long-term creative placemaking investments in outdoor, permanent music venues are creating the desired impacts?
bringing diverse groups of people together
revitalizing public spaces
providing access to high-quality programming
strengthening social fabric of communities

3. some context
Legacy—and critique—of using “indicators” frameworks for measuring impact of creative placemaking investments
Impulse to bridge national indicators with Levitt- specific definitions of success
Importance of assessing impact at multiple levels: individual concertgoers + community wide
Emphasis on exploring how Levitt venues bring about change

4. A B C study design Multi-Level Impact Study
Audience & Community Outcomes Exploration
Established Pavilions (Memphis & Pasadena
Concert exit survey
Observation and interviewing at events
Local stakeholder interviews
Community discussion groups B C
Pre/Post Community Outcomes Study
Indirect Outcomes Assessment
Denver Pavilion
Analysis of secondary data sources (i.e., existing 3rd party data)
Community ethnography
Intercept interviews in mixed mode (qual + quant)
Local stakeholder interviews

5. A B C study design Multi-Level Impact Study
Audience & Community Outcomes Exploration
Established Pavilions (Memphis & Pasadena
Concert exit survey
Observation and interviewing at events
Local stakeholder interviews
Community discussion groups B C
Pre/Post Community Outcomes Study
Indirect Outcomes Assessment

6. key findings
Levitt venues offer a hybrid experience of the arts and community connection, facilitating interaction within existing social groups (“bonding social capital”) and meaningful social interactions across demographic boundaries (“bridging social capital”)
The quality and variety of music programming plays an important role in appealing to a diverse cross-section of the community; being astute musical programmers is as important as creating welcoming public environments to Levitt’s success

7. key findings
Venues and their programming reinvigorate public spaces, resulting in improved perceptions of the safety of the location and surrounding neighborhood; this contributes to community residents’ “pride of place”
Venues played, and continue to play, an important catalytic and contributory role in broader community revitalizations—but were not solely responsible for these developments

8. implications
In creative placemaking, programming is as important as place in providing a compelling and communal experience
For music providers in particular, a venue’s programming can communicate subtle but important messages regarding who might feel welcome
The physical and logistical attributes of a creative placemaking project will guide how people participate in and benefit from the experience

9. implications
Communicating explicitly about a project’s community-building goals can help to engage participants and residents as informal ambassadors
The history and sociology of a community, and the specific site chosen for a project, will profoundly inform the way the project unfolds
Partnership, coordination, and collaboration are essential creative placemaking skills and key to ensuring a project remains community-driven