ArtHERE Civic Revitalization Platform

Partners: ZERO1 Biennial, Lower East Side B.I.D.

Challenge

Following the Global Financial Crisis, under-resourced cities saw a surge of guerilla and tactical civic innovation. ArtHERE was conceived to address urban blight in San Francisco, using physical spaces and creative interventions as tools for community decision-making and resource reallocation.

Approach

The process began with informal "hallway interviews" and secondary research on crowdsourcing and placemaking. A lean prototype was built for desirability testing across three personas:

• Engaged community members
• Property managers
• City representatives

Paper prototypes and wireframes mapped user journeys. Social voting features were incorporated to center community involvement.

Iterative testing revealed unconsidered challenges: physical alterations to buildings, maintenance needs, and permitting requirements. A key opportunity emerged -- partnering with arts institutions to streamline open calls -- prompting expansion of personas to include arts organizations.

Result

ArtHERE connected spaces with art to drive community-led urban revitalization, serving two primary functions:

1. A replicable platform for tactical urbanism and placemaking, deployed from Santa Cruz, CA to New York City
2. A streamlined submission system for artist open calls (used by Lower East Side B.I.D. and ZERO1 Biennial)

Recognition & Funding:

• Grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts' Art Works program
• University of California Institute for Research in the Arts grant
• Featured in Fast Co:Exist
• Recognized at a Commonwealth Club event with Mayoral candidates

The platform operated for four years before being retired.