Cool Cities Initiative began as an initiative started by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to spur growth and investment in Northern Cities. The Initiative was proposed in 2003 in response to students attending college in Michigan and then seeking employment out of state. This is a initial report on the project launched in 2003.

In recent memory, the topic of community building has been examined and explored in countless ways. The arts have effectively played the role as convener and construction worker in matters of community. The arts have potential to connect people within a community in new ways, to bringing disparate people together, and to tap into a communitys latent creativity.ﾝ Another recent buzz-word often heard in community building circles is smart growth, ﾝ or a series of activities designed to re-orient and re-center the physical design of communities so that their community fabric is strengthened.ﾝ

Drawing on an extended case study of Chicagos Wicker Park neighborhood, this article develops the concept of neo-bohemia that creates the context for the redevelopment of former industrial spaces in Chicago.

The authors suggest proxy measures for quantyfing the presence of the arts in a city. They provide a sample of 20 American cities.

The importance of cultural institutions to contemporary revitalization efforts in U.S. cities is attributed to several factors, including cities' dependence on their consumption economies, cultural institutions' interest in improving their surroundings, and cultural institutions' abilities to draw on serious and popular art forms.

This article considers the emergence of new, local alliances in US cities that encourage construction for the arts as a tool of urban development.

As a means for exploring the balance of culture with technology in the region, Cultural Initiatives created the Great Cities simulator, a laboratory for experimenting with cultural policies and projecting Silicon Valley’s fate 40 years into the future.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the economic properties as well as the institutions governing the start-up and evolution of cultural districts.

A strategic business plan, based on current research data, designed to address the needs and issues facing arts and cultural organizations and constituents in the Sacramento Metropolitan area.

This article reviews the concept of cultural governance analyzing three cultural districts: the Scientific and Cultural Facility District (SCFD) in Colorado; the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District (MZPMD) in Missouri; the Allengheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) in Pennsylvania. The author highlights the importance of strategic coalitions, stable funding mechanisms (i. e. sales taxes), effectiveness of regional governance, and of institutionalization of public funded programs.