Public art can make your town more beautiful, more beloved and more economically productive. 

Public art brings unique value and character to our neighborhoods.
The most successful public art is the result of community desires and goals, not top-down planning.

Featured
When the Need to Develop Trumps Public Art
Jason Schaefer
When the Need to Develop Trumps Public Art
Jason Schaefer

This park has served its purpose and now it's time to move on to the next phase of its life: as a mixed-use development that will support local businesses and bring more people downtown—to stay.

Jason Schaefer
Public Art: Project vs. Process
Gracen Johnson
Public Art: Project vs. Process
Gracen Johnson

Just as we at Strong Towns do not have a formula or solution for productive growth, but rather an approach to development, I believe that effective art is more about process, than project.

Gracen Johnson

Do you care about public art and its place in a strong town? Support the work of Strong Towns by becoming a member today.

Top stories

Featured
How music has helped one neighborhood connect with its past and plan for its future
Nicole Stempak
How music has helped one neighborhood connect with its past and plan for its future
Nicole Stempak

A pop-up music venue is making a big impact in Akron, Ohio.

Nicole Stempak
Sign of the Times
Kea Wilson
Sign of the Times
Kea Wilson

What can signmaking’s past and present tell us about our cities’ futures?

Kea Wilson
A changing city struggles to maintain space for art and artists
David Goodwin
A changing city struggles to maintain space for art and artists
David Goodwin

As new residents move in, will the arts be pushed out?

David Goodwin
When Public Art and Historic Preservation Clash
Alex Pline
When Public Art and Historic Preservation Clash
Alex Pline

Hurdles to revitalization based not on substance but control are the last thing America's cities and towns need.

Alex Pline
Top Stories from Public Art Week (May 15-19, 2017)
Strong Towns
Top Stories from Public Art Week (May 15-19, 2017)
Strong Towns

This Public Art Week, we discussed big questions about the value and role of public art in our towns. Here's what got the most reads this week.

Strong Towns
A Place for Public Art
Rachel Quednau
A Place for Public Art
Rachel Quednau

Is public art doomed to only be invited and placed in locations that are lacking and empty—a band-aid to cover up our cities' design failures?

Rachel Quednau
When the Need to Develop Trumps Public Art
Jason Schaefer
When the Need to Develop Trumps Public Art
Jason Schaefer

This park has served its purpose and now it's time to move on to the next phase of its life: as a mixed-use development that will support local businesses and bring more people downtown—to stay.

Jason Schaefer
Podcast: An All-Night Citywide Art Festival
Strong Towns
Podcast: An All-Night Citywide Art Festival
Strong Towns

For one day in June, hundreds of artists, dozens of venues and tens of thousands of residents take part in a free, all-night art festival in the Twin Cities. Here's the story of Northern Spark.

Strong Towns
The Great Place Project
Rachel Quednau
The Great Place Project
Rachel Quednau

A unique program in Cook County, MN gives local organizations and businesses grants of up to just $1,000 to take on small projects that improve their town. And it's making a big impact.

Rachel Quednau

Related Topics

Placemaking
Where We Live: Communities for All Ages
Strong Towns
Where We Live: Communities for All Ages
Strong Towns

A new book from AARP’s Livable Communities initiative showcases 100+ examples from America’s inspiring local leaders.

Strong Towns
How Can Public Events Plant the Seed for True Placemaking?
Jen Jones Donatelli
How Can Public Events Plant the Seed for True Placemaking?
Jen Jones Donatelli

After the crowds clear, what type of long-term impact does a public event leave in its wake?

Jen Jones Donatelli
Simple Things, Great Places
Sarah Kobos
Simple Things, Great Places
Sarah Kobos

Here are 8 small things you can do to make a place more inviting, productive and happy.

Sarah Kobos

Architecture

Architecture
Absolution and the Changing American City
Strong Towns
Absolution and the Changing American City
Strong Towns

How can we be fair judges of city builders in the past while still maintaining a critical eye toward their failings?

Strong Towns
A Proper Lament for Fading Mid-Century Suburbia
Addison Del Mastro
A Proper Lament for Fading Mid-Century Suburbia
Addison Del Mastro

The debate over historic preservation is ultimately more than one of aesthetics; it is one of cultural memory and even morality.

Addison Del Mastro
A Unique Public-Private Partnership for a 21st Century Library
Rachel Quednau
A Unique Public-Private Partnership for a 21st Century Library
Rachel Quednau

After years of being a largely windowless, uninviting one-story building on a dreary corner, this library was transformed into an exciting, lively mixed-use space that is now a focal point for the neighborhood.

Rachel Quednau

(Top photo source: Brisbane City Council)