Cultural corridors play a key role in bringing new vitality to Florida's cities

[ By Barbara Drake ]

It's time that the truth came out. The arts are good business. Cultural institutions in the United States now draw more visitors than do professional sports events. According to the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc., the arts account for roughly six percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. A nationwide study released in June 2002 by Americans for the Arts reports that the nonprofit arts industry accounted for $134 billion in total expenditures, a 45 percent increase from the last time the study was conducted in 1994. The study also noted that nonprofit arts organizations spend more than $53.2 billion in their communities annually and support nearly five million full-time equivalent jobs.

In Florida the numbers are equally impressive. State-funded research shared by the Florida Cultural Alliance in January 2000 showed the Florida arts and cultural industry contributed $1.4 billion toward gross state product in 1996-97, while creating 22,237 full-time jobs. That $1.4 billion figure includes $738.1 million in direct spending by cultural organizations on goods and services, plus millions more in subsequent ripple effects on local economies.

You don't need to be a statistician to appreciate that the arts are a powerful force driving Florida's economy - just visit your nearest city and take a stroll through the downtown arts district. There you'll likely observe what arts professionals and supporters have been arguing for years: The arts are exceptional at pumping dollars into local economies, making neighborhoods and cities better places for every resident to live. Also known as "cultural corridors," these thriving arts districts serve as catalysts for economic growth in cities as diverse as Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, the Palm beaches and others. Whether attracting visitors to formerly neglected urban areas, creating demand for restaurants and bolstering a community's tax revenues or stimulating major building projects, cultural corridors play a key role in bringing new vitality to Florida's cities.

Rick Smith, historic preservation planner for the City of St. Petersburg, speaks for many in the urban planning community when he champions the unique ability of the arts to attract and sustain economic growth: "People will seek out an arts experience, just as they will seek out a destination experience. The impact on a local economy can be formidable, in terms of bringing in more money for the community." Smith adds: "When I go out to speak to neighborhood organizations, I tell them, 'Even if a citizen never goes once to a museum, their life is made better by what that institution brings to the community.'"

   To Learn More:

Visit the following Web sites:

Florida Cultural Alliance: www.flca.net

Americans for the Arts: www.artsusa.org

Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council: www.tropiculturemiami.com

City of Gainesville/Dept. of Cultural Affairs: http://gvlculturalaffairs.org/

City of St. Petersburg: www.stpete.org/arts.htm