Civic Transformation and Resident Empowerment Through the Arts

This thesis seeks to explore the work conducted by community-focused nonprofits working multimodally in the arts and civic improvement. Hardship and disadvantage are shown to have negative effects on social cohesion and prosocial behaviors, while a healthy nonprofit ecology, as well as arts education and participation, have been shown to increase these and similar indicators of civic health. As such, research into arts organizations working beyond traditional creative placemaking activities to support and develop their immediate communities is critical. This thesis will contribute by reviewing and synthesizing data from the diverse literatures of economics, sociology, community planning, and arts management to explore how civically-minded nonprofits utilize principles from theories of social disorganization, social capital, and asset based community development. It will review the effects of macroeconomics and nonprofit ecosystems on populations, while summarizing critiques of current community improvement initiatives in the arts sector. A case study of Project Row Houses will illustrate these theories at work in a disadvantaged, minority-populated urban area.