- Arts district
An arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, dance clubs, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually encouraged by public policy-making and planning, but sometimes occurs spontaneously. It is associated with allied service-industry jobs like cafes, printers, fashion outlets, restaurants, and a variety of 'discreet services' (see the back-page small-ads of almost any cultural events-listings magazine).
There may also be some artists' studios located in nearby back-streets. But, as
Richard Florida has found from his research, cultural production facilities are often better sited some miles away from cultural consumption facilities - except in some very tolerant cities and in countries where a boisterous alcohol-based nightlife scene does not lead to aggressive and anti-social behaviour.In the UK the term sometimes used is "Cultural quarter" or "Arts quarter".
Notable arts districts in the
USA include:
*Arts District of Dallas, Texas
*Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri
*Noho Arts District of Los Angeles, California
*Pearl District of Portland, Oregon
*Short North of Columbus, OhioArt districts in London include:
*
Shoreditch
*Broadway Market ee also
*
Urban regeneration
*Creative industries
*Cultural industries
*Richard Florida
*Creative class
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