Getting Creative with Blight

Encouraging the creative class to rent and eventually own in foreclosed neighborhoods revives blighted neighborhoods, but the strategy isn't without controversy or setbacks.

1 minute read

April 22, 2009, 7:00 AM PDT

By Judy Chang

"Some urban planners warn against treating the arts as a cure-all for urban development, particularly since low-income residents are often forced out when artists move in. 'Artists have had the effect of gentrifying neighborhoods that were working for the existing communities,' says Dana Cuff, an architecture professor at UCLA and founder of cityLAB, an urban-design think tank.

Some artists are also wary of being branded as agents of development. 'I could never afford the neighborhoods that I've helped contribute to,' says Bridget Ginley, a 38-year-old painter, who says she was priced out of Cleveland's trendy Tremont and Ohio City neighborhoods once the galleries and restaurants arrived."

FULL STORY: Artists vs. Blight

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in The Wall Street Journal

Community / Economic Development Housing Social / Demographics Urban Development Ohio Cleveland View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.