Stern, Mark J
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Publication Beyond Livability (ArtPlace blog)(2011-12-01) Stern, Mark JMark Stern wrote this blog post in December 2011 as part of CultureBlocks, the Philadelphia cultural assets mapping project, funded by the NEA’s Our Town Program and ArtPlace America.Publication Social Networks and Inequality in New York City's Cultural Sector(2017-10-01) Stern, Mark JThis paper uses NYC Department of Cultural Affairs data on grantee program sites to address questions about structural inequality associated with the geography of cultural resources across New York City. The analysis supports and expands SIAP findings documented in its March 2017 report about the geography of culture in New York City. On the one hand, the distribution of program sites across the City is consistent with that of other cultural assets. Program sites tend to reinforce rather than mitigate the shortfall of cultural opportunities in the majority of lower-income neighborhoods. At the same time, it demonstrates that civic clusters—low-income neighborhoods with relatively large numbers of cultural assets—have stronger and more diverse institutional networks. This paper suggests that improving social wellbeing in lower-income neighborhoods requires strengthening both local and regional networks.Publication "Natural" Cultural Districts and Public Policy(2012-06-01) Stern, Mark J; Seifert, Susan CThis paper reports on research on the development of “natural” cultural districts—clusters of cultural resources that emerge in particular neighborhoods as a bottom-up, unplanned process. It uses data on Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Seattle to answer the following questions: What social and economic benefits are associated with cultural clusters? What are the social mechanisms that connect community benefits to cultural clusters? How do we define “natural” cultural districts? Are there particular neighborhood features that foster formation of these cultural clusters? Can we distinguish particular types of “natural” cultural districts? What kinds of policy interventions are appropriate for different types of districts? The analysis suggests that although we can demonstrate strong connections between the concentration of cultural assets and a wide variety of social benefits, economic spillover tends to be concentrated in places that are already advantaged. Thus, if we pursue strategies that promote creative placemaking purely as a market-based strategy, the outcomes are likely to increase the already growing gap between prosperous and poor residents and between advantaged and disadvantaged parts of the city.Publication The Arts and Social Inclusion(2011-06-07) Stern, Mark JThe relationship of civic participation to cultural engagement pulls us into an old controversy regarding intrinsic vs. instrumental values of the arts.In this presentation, Stern cites international scholarship—at the cross-section of welfare economics, philosophy, and social welfare—as a way out of this impasse. The Europeans have explored a multi-dimensional approach to social inclusion vs. social exclusion. He points out that viewing the arts and culture as a dimension of social inclusion changes the kinds of policy questions we ask about the sector. First, we'd focus on access and opportunity to participate in the arts and how these are distributed across the geographic and social landscape. Second, we could ask how cultural inclusion may provide a means of reducing other forms of social exclusion.Publication Rethinking Social Impact: "We Can't Talk About Social Well-Being Without the Arts & Culture"(2012-05-01) Stern, Mark JMark Stern wrote this blog post as part of Animating Democracy’s “Social Impact and Evaluation Blog Salon” in 2012.Publication How does the composition of a cultural district influence its sustainability?(2012-11-01) Stern, Mark J; Seifert, Susan CThis research memo tests out different methods for identifying and classifying cultural clusters and estimating changes in Philadelphia clusters between 1997 and 2010. It concludes that block groups with a complex cultural ecology are more likely to retain their status, while those with a single strength are more likely to suffer a loss of resources (or at least a smaller gain) and a decline in overall position in the citywide cultural sector.Publication Culture and social wellbeing in New York City: Concepts and methods(2017-09-01) Stern, Mark JThis presentation was prepared to accompany Mark Stern’s discussion of the conceptual framework, data and methods, findings, implications, and policy impacts of research undertaken between 2014 and 2017 on the relationship of culture to social wellbeing in New York City. The concepts of neighborhood cultural ecosystem, social wellbeing, and civic engagement provide the rationale for the study of culture and social justice. Data and methods involved are: development of a citywide cultural asset database; construction of a multi-dimensional model of social wellbeing at the neighborhood level; and interviews with cultural and community practitioners to add depth to the quantitative analyses. Findings related to the geography of inequality and gaps in neighborhood cultural ecology suggest opportunities for public investment and philanthropy. The research has had policy uptake by the Mayor’s Office of Operations’ OneNYC (The Plan for a Strong and Just City), NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ first comprehensive cultural plan (CreateNYC: A Cultural Plan for All New Yorkers, July 2017), and in establishment of an interagency Culture Cabinet.Publication Using PUMS to Calculate Geographic Mobility in New York City(2017-10-01) Stern, Mark JNew York City’s remarkable population growth over recent decades has heightened concerns about gentrification and displacement. In this paper, SIAP uses census data drawn from the annual American Community Survey (ACS) to identify patterns of geographic mobility common in New York City Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) during the past decade. Major findings include: 1) New York City residents tend to move less frequently than those of other major cities; 2) the city displays two distinct dimensions of geographic mobility—one associated with high population turnover (number of residents moving in and out of a neighborhood) and a second associated with net population change (shifts in the ethnic and educational composition of the area); and 3) the presence of cultural assets in the neighborhood is associated with high turnover, but not with shifts in the ethnic and educational composition of the area. The paper concludes with observations about how these different patterns might affect residents’ experience of rapid neighborhood change.Publication Re-presenting the City: Arts, Culture, and Diversity in Philadelphia(1999-04-01) Stern, Mark J; Seifert, Susan CDiversity is an essential feature of urbanism, as articulated by Louis Wirth in his classic 1938 essay, “Urbanism as a Way of Life.” This paper presents 1990s findings on the connection between social diversity and cultural engagement in Philadelphia neighborhoods to question the reality of “city trenches” (Ira Katznelson 1981) and dominant views about the limits of urban revitalization. The paper examines the links between civic engagement and ethnic and economic diversity in Philadelphia by analyzing the relationship of the geography of civic and community organizations to their socio-economic context. The authors argue that arts and cultural organizations and engagement do not parallel divisions of race and social class; rather, they tend to concentrate in neighborhoods that are ethnically and economically diverse. Thus, cultural organizations provide an opportunity to support community institutions without reinforcement of social segregation.Publication Culture and the Changing Urban Landscape: Philadelphia 1997-2002(2003-03-01) Stern, Mark JThis paper was an early product of the Dynamics of Culture project, undertaken to bring time into SIAP’s analysis of the role of culture in urban communities. The author uses data on Philadelphia’s changing urban context from 1990 - 2000 and changes in its cultural sector from 1997 – 2002 to assess the impact of culture on neighborhood wellbeing. The research found that Philadelphia, unlike “world cities,” cannot rely on the market alone to generate the cataclysmic churning of its land market. By the same token, the city cannot count on a massive inflow of capital to support its cultural sector. Thus these processes in Philadelphia are unlikely to stimulate displacement or gentrification but rather tend to be more gradual and firmly embedded in the existing social structure, which allows a different set of social forces to take root in neighborhoods. On the one hand, culture stimulates a kind of “collective efficacy” (see Sampson and Earls) that encourages residents to address community conditions. At the same time, culture’s association with diversity allows it to breach barriers of social class and ethnicity that other forms of civic engagement often leave in place. With the rise of the global city, flashy displays of the power of culture—the construction of fancy facilities, the creation of cultural districts, and the quest for the “creative class”—have attracted far more attention. Yet, for the majority of Americans who live in second- or third-tier cities, the modest benefits of cultural engagement--often in a church basement, recreation center, or converted loft space--are more likely to have an enduring impact on the quality of urban life.