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Commentary/Op-Ed - June 2015

The Virtuous Cycle of Keeping Your City Affordable for Artists

In this Next City op-ed, CUF researcher Adam Forman discusses how New York’s affordability challenges are threatening its remarkable community of artists, nonprofit arts groups, and for profit creative industries. He outlines three ideas for what the city should do to support and retain New York’s now thriving creative economy in the years ahead.

Adam Forman

Tags: economic growth creative economy tech design brooklyn

New York’s artists and creative professionals have fueled the city’s economic growth and helped revitalize neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. But now New York is becoming unaffordable for the very people that have led to its recent economic success and cultural appeal.

In this op-ed, CUF researcher Adam Forman presents key insights from the Center for an Urban Future’s latest report on the economic importance of New York’s creative industries and their mounting challenges. Drawing from the report’s recommendations, Forman proposes three ideas to sustain the presence and vibrancy of the city’s creative sector. He recommends creating partnerships where artists provide programming in exchange for workspace and stipends from community organizations; simplifying affordable housing and healthcare applications for creatives in non-traditional employment; and incorporating cultural planning into the city’s zoning and development procedures. 

Click here to read the full op-ed. 

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General operating support for Center for an Urban Fu­ture has been provided by the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation, Fund for the City of New York, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation and the M&T Charitable Foundation.