We highlight here some great articles we’ve read this week dealing with art, creative placemaking, and building great communities. You’re sure to find some inspiration to make your life and our community even better!

1. Cultural Districts as Community Connectors: Those working in cultural districts (should) constantly mold their programming, projects, and policies to meet the unique needs of the communities in which they are situated, and to not underestimate the potential of creative expression as a catalyst for change.

2. On the Arts Vibrancy Index: The index measures vibrancy in terms of “supply, demand, and government support for arts and culture” per capita…. The number of artists and artistic organizations in a community, the amount of nonprofit funding available for cultural events, and the value of state and federal grants for the arts are all relevant factors.

3. Do Trees Impact Mental Health?: Even after adjusting for factors like unemployment and affluence, the areas that have the most trees along the streets also had fewer prescriptions for antidepressants.

4. On James Robertson and Public Transportation: Just think about it for a moment: strangers are falling over themselves to help subsidize a personal vehicle for one individual … but voters in dozens of suburban communities in the Detroit area have voted to “opt out” of the region’s public transportation system. In so doing they have shut down job opportunities for thousands of area residents who are eager for employment, and denied employers access to untapped sources of labor.

5. 6 Keys to an Attractive City: We’ve grown good at making many things in the modern world – but strangely the art of making attractive cities has been lost. Check out the video below for some key principles for how to make attractive cities once again.