The Creative Community Builder’s Handbook

The Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts, and Culture gives you successful strategies, best practices, and "how-to" guidance to turn cultural gems into effective community change.

Put the power of arts and culture to work in your community! This book, authored by Tom Borrup with Partners for Livable Communities, 2006.

Synopsis: Part 1 of this unique guide distills research and emerging ideas behind culturally driven community development and explains key underlying principles. You'll understand the arts impact on community well-being and have the rationale for engaging others. Find inspiration and ideas from twenty case studies. Part 2 gives you ten concrete strategies for building on the unique qualities of your own community. Each strategy is illustrated by two case studies taken from a variety of cities, small towns, and neighborhoods across the United States. You'll learn how people from all walks of life used culture and creativity as a glue to bind together people, ideas, enterprises, and institutions to make places more balanced and healthy. These examples are followed in Part 3 with six steps to assessing, planning, and implementing creative community building projects.

• Timeframe to Complete Project: Months to Years

• Cost Range: $25.99 for Resource; Cost varies by Project

• Keywords: Public Spaces, Planning, Creative Placemaking, Public Engagement, Asset Mapping, Visioning, Community Identity

• This resource was created by Tom Borrup with Partner for Livable Communities. Click on the link below to access the resource.