This presentation references the SIAP/TRF Harvest Document (Jan 2007) to provide a critical review of literature on culture and urban revitalization. Posing the question--Does creativity have a pay-off for distressed cities?—the talk highlights shortcomings of arguments based solely on the arts as economic engine, including current theory on the creative economy and the creative class. Stern argues that a cultural cluster approach--which is really about economic sociology--leads to a focus on social impacts and an inclusive vision of culture-based revitalization.