On Thursday, the National League of Cities released The 10 Critical Imperatives Facing Cities in 2014, its annual report highlighting ten of the most pressing issues facing cities across the United States. Partners board member and incoming NLC President, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker explained during the report's unveiling, "This is not a wish list just of cities. This is a wish list of the people who live in America. That’s 80 percent of the population of America that’s being represented through us."
The ten items on the list were:
- Fragile Fiscal Health
- Deteriorating Transportation Infrastructure
- The Shrinking Middle Class
- Inadequate Access to Higher Education
- The Need for Affordable Housing
- A Less-Than-Welcoming Return for Veterans
- Gang Violence
- A Broken Immigration System
- Climate Change and Extreme Weather
- Lack of Public Trust
Click here to read the full report from NLC, which includes an overview of initiatives being taken by cities in their own efforts to tackle these ten challenges and create more livable communities for their residents.
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Terms:Community Building, Community Development, Downtown Development, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health & Wellness, Housing, Immigration, Neighborhood Revitalization, Other Reports/Publications, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships, Transportation, Urban
Housed in a stunning building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, ASU Gammage at Arizona State University, one of the largest university-based theaters in the world, has been broadening its audience for many years. Its outreach extends to both immigrant and older adult audiences. Widely recognized for its work in Phoenix, ASU Gammage’s commitment becomes evident in the role played by one of its staff members: Michael Reed, the senior director of Cultural Participation and Programming, is responsible for developing and overseeing an astonishing array of performances, including explorations of theater arts for all ages, and programs highlighting the arts of various cultures.
The commitment to accommodating older adults, for example, was demonstrated while The Phantom of the Opera was at the theater for a four-week run. To better suit the preferences of older adult audiences, some performances were scheduled as matinees. Reed also explains that the house staff is very experienced in working with older adults and those who are frail or have disabilities. The staff works with ARTability, an Arizona organization that promotes accessibility to the arts for those with disabilities. Before each season begins, the staff reviews issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), though Frank Lloyd Wright’s design, while handsome, has made retrofitting ASU Gammage to meet the requirements of the ADA, and other evolving audience needs, quite difficult.
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Terms:2012, Aging, Aging in Place, AIP Best Practice, Arizona, Arts & Culture, City Leaders Institute on Aging in Place, Community Engagement, Cultural Institutions, Diversity, Education, Immigration, Intergenerational, Mobility, Youth
 photo credit Project SHINE
“When I first came to America, I only knew a couple letters. I couldn't communicate with anybody. And I learned about this program and I started (to learn English). I have been here for three years and now I have built a basic vocabulary that I can carry my daily life. It basically helped me to live in America." -Project SHINE participant
In the early 1980s, Nancy Henkin, founder and director of the Intergenerational Center at Temple University, was shocked by the news that loneliness and social isolation led an elderly Asian woman to commit suicide, at a time when it was commonly assumed that older immigrants were part of tight-knit and supportive communities. Henkin realized that older immigrants often struggle with language barriers, changes in customs, and differences in social roles more than their younger counterparts, and began working to establish a program that could support them. Project SHINE was launched in 1985, to reach out and provide aging immigrants with language and cultural resources to help them adapt in their new community.
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Terms:2012, Aging, Aging in Place, AIP Best Practice, City Leaders Institute on Aging in Place, Community Development, Community Engagement, Education, Faith Community, Families, Health & Wellness, Heritage, Immigration, Intergenerational, Jobs, Life-Long Learning, Multicultural, National, Youth
Stories for Change: Leadership Examples of Expanding Arts to New Audiences
A Report from Partners for Livable Communities
Funded by MetLife Foundation
Stories for Change, a report by Partners for Livable Communities funded by MetLife Foundation, offers leadership examples that expand the arts to new audiences. This compendium of nearly 50 best practices showcases the notable strategies that increase access to arts and culture for older adult and immigrant populations.
Stories for Change broadens the scope of Partners’ 2011 report, Culture Connects All: Rethinking Audiences in Times of Demographic Change, which describes the innovative programs of arts organizations in six major American cities. It shows that arts and culture are as essential to sustaining communities as bricks and mortar.
Partners for Livable Communities’ 2011 publication, Culture Connects All, was featured in the winter 2012 issue of Preserving Your Memory, a magazine supported by the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. Sam Gaines’ article, Making the Connection, outlines the publication’s key objectives, and its recommendations to arts and cultural organizations pursuing arts programs to reach out to diverse audiences. Funded by MetLife Foundation, Culture Connects All was published in 2011 to showcase cultural institutions using innovative strategies or programs to engage two of America’s fastest- growing populations: older adults and immigrants.
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Culture Connects All, a benchmark report by Partners for Livable communities funded by MetLife Foundation, offers new audience-building opportunities for arts and cultural organizations to engage two of America’s fastest growing populations: immigrant and older adult populations.
The 2010 census confirms what many have observed over the past decade—the population is growing older, and in many areas more diverse. And this change is happening across the face of the nation. Two rapidly expanding population groups present a timely opportunity for communities and their arts and cultural institutions to rethink and retool their outreach.
Click Here to Download the Publication
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Nassau County, NY with its growing immigrant population, has witnessed a 107 percent increase in Hispanics since 1990. Recognizing the local demographics of their community are rapidly changing, the Nassau County Museum of Art has created a new outreach program to both attract and to serve this growing community. Nassau County Museum of Art collaborated with Queensborough Community College’s adult literacy program for English language learners to create Culture and Literacy through Art (CALTA).
Arts and Cultural Institutions: Developing New Audiences and Better Neighborhoods. In the next two decades, this country will see a major shift in demographics of the population.The number of adults age 65+ in the U.S. will double, to more than 70 million. This upward trend is also true of the immigrant population. Immigrants now account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years. For organizations that provide opportunities for arts and cultural participation, these demographic trends represent a challenge and an opportunity to expand their audiences and take leadership roles in their communities. How are arts and cultural institutions responding? What types of programs have been instituted? What new partnerships have been made? How has staff composition changed? These are questions that Partners has been asked to answer thanks to funding from MetLife Foundation. We are approaching arts and cultural organizations in six major cities—Atlanta, New York City, Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa and Chicago—about how and why they are reaching out to these two growth populations. If you have a program reaching out to older adults or immigrants, we would like to hear from you. You do not need to be located in one of the cities above—all good programs are welcome. Please contact Penny Cuff at Partners (
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or 202-887-5990 x 101).
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Holyoke, MA
A grass-roots organization that promotes economic, social, and community development through food and agriculture projects.
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Terms:Arts & Culture, Business, CBC Best Practice, Community Building, Community Development, Community Engagement, Culture Builds Communities, Diversity, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Holyoke, MA, Immigration, Multicultural, Neighborhood Revitalization, Parks, Playgrounds & Gardens, Placemaking, Social Capital, Workforce Development, Youth
Providence, RI
An initiative adopted by the Providence Public Library that breaks down social, economic, and educational barriers by providing language training to non-English speaking families.
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Terms:Community Development, Diversity, Education, Families, Heritage, Immigration, Life-Long Learning, Mobility, Providence, RI, Social Capital
Queens, NY
A program that uses the rich cultural heritage of the community to engage and educate neighborhood youth
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Terms:Arts & Culture, CBC Best Practice, Community Building, Community Development, Community Engagement, Cultural Institutions, Culture Builds Communities, Heritage, Immigration, Multicultural, Museums, Neighborhood Revitalization, New York City, NY, Parks, Playgrounds & Gardens, Placemaking, Public Art, Social Capital, Urban, Youth
Neal Pierce reports on the role of the library as social gathering place and powerful resource for new immigrants looking to assimilate.
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 This report is a framework for a general understanding of Asian American concerns and opportunities to include them in broader civic dialogue. It is designed for local leaders and civic groups on how they can build their infrastructure and leadership around this issue. Click here to download report.
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Terms:2005, Community Building, Diversity, Heritage, Houston, TX, Immigration, Multicultural, National, Partners Reports/Publications, Social Capital
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