The impacts of local arts agencies on community placemaking and heritage tourism

ABSTRACT

The arts and culture have been shown to foster economic development by attracting workers and businesses in the knowledge industry, spurring tourism, and improving the housing market. However, beyond financial capital, they significantly impact other forms of capital in the community, as well. The Community Capital Framework (CCF) is an analytical tool widely used to observe and critique the relationships among various types of community assets: social, human, financial, creative, built, natural, and political. This study used the CCF to assess the impacts of community-based arts centers on their communities, particularly on heritage tourism. The results demonstrated effects on social, environmental, and business assets, primarily in the financial, social, cultural, and human capitals. The results can be used by community leaders as a starting point when discussing the costs and benefits of investing in a new local arts agency.

KEYWORDS:

• Art
• community
• urban regeneration
• capital
• economic impact
• planning

Notes on contributors

John Delconte is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in the department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. He is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpretation, and recently earned an MS at East Carolina's Center for Sustainable Tourism.

Carol Kline is an Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Appalachian State University in the Department of Management. Her interests focus on rural tourism development including how to create a supportive environment for tourism entrepreneurs, the role of sustainable food systems in tourism, the impacts of tourism on various community ‘capitals’, and early tourist markets in burgeoning destinations.

Carmine Scavo is an Associate Professor of Political Science at East Carolina University where he has taught political science and public administration since 1985. His PhD is from the University of Michigan. His published work has appeared in Public Administration Review, Urban Affairs Review, Social Science Quarterly, and in many edited volumes.