Creativity tends to flourish when and where it is supported. By supporting the interests of creative people, municipalities can attract and retain more of the creative energy that helps communities become more sustainable and adaptable. 

This action rewards municipalities for building a more welcoming environment for artistic and cultural activity (1) through land use ordinances and other regulations, contractual relationships with cultural organizations, municipal ownership of spaces reserved for cultural and creative activities, tax abatements that help creative people to live or work in the community, and art-specific strategies in the municipality’s Master Plan. 

Municipalities can undertake a wide array of individual actions that directly support arts and creative cultural growth in their community. 

(1) ‘Artistic activity’ involves a broad array of activity. This includes painting, sculpture, theater, dance and physical arts (such as capoeira and rhythmic gymnastics), music, design, fashion, body art (tattoos, hairstyling, nail art), creative writing, architecture and landscape architecture. ‘Cultural activity’ involves the expression of a group’s identity in the public arena. This can take the form of festivals, the public sale of items that are specific to the culture, or the visible presence of the culture in architecture or public art. Usually, arts and culture go hand-in-hand. 

Why is it important? 

Arts and culture have been proven to contribute a great deal to various measures of sustainability. Cultural professionals tend to prefer to locate in areas with denser, more compact development and easy access to public transportation. The arts help diversify local economies and attract new investment. Artists tend to be strongly connected with their physical and cultural environments – these are, after all, the raw materials for their products. Artists also inspire creativity in one another and in other people who don’t even think of themselves as creative. In these respects, artists play key roles in helping communities develop creative ways to protect the character and environmental qualities of their communities.

Most artists and cultural professionals have the flexibility to work wherever they can afford to live and produce their art. Like other entrepreneurs, these professionals locate where they feel welcome and can connect with others for support and inspiration. The loss of creative talent is a problem in many New Jersey communities. Policies and regulations that support the arts and cultural activities can help reduce that loss and may even attract more creative professionals.

Artists who are engaged in civil society help other people to express their creativity, which can lead to better solutions to a variety of public policy issues and sustainability. The intentional integration of artists and culture into planning processes can synthesize ideas and generate creative solutions to problems. Art that highlights natural, historic or cultural features of a place can contribute to greater support for environmental and cultural protections and historic preservation in rural and urban settings. Artists and arts activities also cluster in areas of greater density and diversity – which helps contribute to cultural richness and community sustainability.