While the individual technical requirements for each portfolio project requires a different financial cost, the overall economic context is the same. Through the prepared Lafayette course that integrates the engineering and arts, creating public works of art scattered around the Greater Easton area, the town-gown relationship will be further strengthened. Nationally, town-gown relationships are a proven economic development tool, with studies showing that better relations between an educational institution and town results in higher economic activity and growth (Rooney, 2009). In recent years, art and culture have become viewed as a tool for economic development, and by using this program as a community engagement tool, it can not only serve as a cultural tool, but also an economic one as well (Ostertag, 2012).
This curriculum was designed around a handful of core principles such as connecting the topics of community engagement, a liberal arts curriculum, and the promotion of the intersection between engineering and the arts. Institutionally, Lafayette College is a perfect candidate for a curriculum like this as a liberal arts school that has “community engagement” as one of its core values. In addition, the college has spent a considerable amount of money trying to expand and strengthen the art department while continuously climbing the ranks as a prestigious engineering school. By having a program that covers, promotes, and strengthens all three values, Lafayette is even closer to fulfilling its strategic institutional goal.
While these goals are policies, policy success can also correlate into economic success. In this case, generating a strengthened town-gown relationship leads to positive economic benefits for all parties and impacts “local economic development in small and medium cities” (Massey, Chan, & Field, 2014), such as Easton, PA. Across the world, “colleges tend to be large employers and major economic contributors to the communities in which they are located” (Carr, 2010). As a city, Easton has much to reap from the town-gown relationship, and many prominent entities cover this mutually beneficial exchange. The Boston Foundation is an example of an established and successful program that advocates for the promotion of the town-gown relationship. As one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations driving innovation and prosperity within the city, the Boston Foundation teams up to create overlapping community partnerships and networks. As an entity, they state that “higher education’s impact on a region’s economy has always been significant, but it has become all the more catalytic locally and nationally” (Rooney, 2009) amidst the increasing level of importance placed on higher education and the record enrollment within it. This means as the years pass, the importance of a Lafayette degree will only grow stronger, and so too will the town-gown relationship that is a part of the greater Easton-Lafayette bond.
As stated before, many of the town’s policy initiatives can be achieved through the course’s community engagement approach, centered around the town-gown relationship. The course’s portfolio includes two options: the Easton Mural Project, and the Railroad Trestle. All options were crafted using community input and aligning the course to fulfill a long term strategic goal of a city initiative, as seen with the Easton Mural Project option. If there are to be other projects added to the portfolio, they need to match the same standards and requirements the two other projects met, falling under the umbrella theme of “public art”. While these two proposed portfolio projects are both contributing to policy success from both a Lafayette and community entity perspective, they add a massive dimension to this town-gown relationship, one of economic development. As a city, Easton attracts much of its revenue off of consumer expenditures. AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program that works to eliminate poverty suggests the use of “asset mapping” when trying to advance a community economically. As stated by the organization, asset mapping “is a tool that relies on a core belief of asset-based community development; namely, that good things exist in communities and that those things can be highlighted and encouraged” (AmeriCorps VISTA). They further go on to name the six categories of community assets: physical assets, economic assets, stories, local residents, local associations, and local institutions. Easton has a large volume of assets within each category, but specifically, physical, and economic assets are some of the most visible within the community. This can be seen with a large culinary presence, museums, a college within the community, and various nightlife venues such as One Center Square. Any initiative that would drive up visitors would correlate with more cash inflows for consumer dependent businesses in Easton, allowing the town to flourish even more while strengthening the assets found within its borders. By using a town-gown public art curriculum, the assets of local associations, local residents, local institutions and stories will also increase in economic value as well as strategic importance to the community.
The National League of Cities is an advocacy organization and a group that controls the Pennsylvania Municipal League. The Pennsylvania Municipal League represents participating Pennsylvania cities, boroughs, townships, home rule communities and towns that all share the League’s municipal policy interests (Pennsylvania Municipal League); Easton is a participating member. The National League of Cities, and its subsidiary groups create innovative and proven policy ideas for municipalities across America, regardless of size. One of the policy recommendations is the application of the arts and culture sector within the economic development setting. In fact, they state that the “arts and culture sector can have a larger impact on your city’s economy (in terms of GDP) than other industries like tourism and transportation — but city leaders often do not recognize the economic value and impact of the arts in their community”. This can be seen in their report that only “25 percent of U.S. mayors discussed the importance of arts and culture when talking about economic development in their 2017 state of the city speeches” (Dick, 2017).
Domestically, art’s positive impact on economic development within the community has been documented by the most important of Federal Institutions. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco publishes extensive research around community development, particularly within their Community Development Innovation Review. The Community Development Innovation Review provides “cross-sector dialogue around a range of emerging issues and related investments that advance economic resilience and mobility for low- and moderate-income communities” (Choi, L, 2017). As a community, according to Data USA, the median household income in Pennsylvania was $56,904 in 2016 (Data USA, 2017). In the same year, Northampton County’s median household income was $62,753 while the City of Easton’s was $45,361 (Data USA, 2017). These statistics would indicate that the greater Easton community falls within the economic spectrum that the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s research applies to.
The Reserve stated that “most states and cities recognize the merits of using arts, culture, and design to enhance tourism, and they depend on the cooperation between economic development, arts and cultural agencies to design and implement strategies for leveraging and marketing the unique quality of life, culture, and cuisine in regions to boost tourism value and growth” (Waits, 2012). This confirms that art and culture influence and promotes tourism, something the city of Easton strives for. The Reserve also notes that “newer for states and cities is the connection that arts, culture, and design can have to renewal and retooling other industries. One such industry is manufacturing” (Waits, 2012). This shows that art can not only help tourism, but also promote and preserve industry, serving as a multipurpose development tool. By using Easton’s rich industrial heritage, which falls in many ways under the industry of “manufacturing” that was mentioned in Waits’ conclusion, representing the industrial heritage through art could in fact help preserve while serving in other capacities. For example, murals at the Simon Silk Mill depicting its history could attract tourism, further helping the businesses economically that sit within the Mill today.
Some governors and mayors across the country are already including arts and cultural influences in their approaches. A 2012 National Governors Association (NGA) report outlined “how arts, culture, and design can compel economic solutions in five ways”: creates a fast-growth dynamic industry cluster, helps mature industries become more competitive, provides the critical ingredients for innovative places, catalyzes community revitalization, and delivers a better-prepared workforce (Waits, 2012). Many real life examples of applications show the powerful relationship between arts, culture, and the local community economy. Examining these case studies, the economic impact of murals within the community can be detected by all stakeholders of respective art project. In 1998, five Saskatchewan communities made the decision to develop tourism through the use of wall murals on the exteriors of buildings. By allocating $250,000 towards the project, multiple murals were created and the number of visitors had increased from 96,000 in 1998 to 169,000 in 2001. In addition, consumer expenditures within the town had doubled from $15.2 to $30.7 million over the same time period (Koster & Randall, 2008). Many other initiatives featuring murals have been established all throughout the world, regardless of municipality size. In cities such as Washington D.C., the Chinatown Community Development Center expanded a program in 2010 to “install murals and storefront installations in alleyways throughout Chinatown” with the intention to beautify the neighborhood, create a draw for visitors, and to attract potential commercial tenants. With a mural program similar to the one found in Oakland, California, cities can churn out over a thousand locally crafted murals within the course of a decade.
The economic “value added” from these art installations is positive, but different depending on which point in the future you are evaluating it from. As seen with the Saskatchewan case study, the number of tourists and increased revenue became apparent only after years had gone by. This would be true for Easton, PA as well, since the value of art goes up both as time and people’s awareness for it increases. If these murals were to be around in 100 years, they could potentially be so well integrated into the city’s identify, that its economic and cultural value is considered priceless. However, a mural created tomorrow would not be deemed priceless 5 months from its creation.
To increase awareness and fully harness the positive reputational impact on the school’s end that will occur from this course, Lafayette’s communications team should be in sync with this course, reporting on select projects. This will raise the program’s awareness within the broader school and Easton community. Positive reputational impact is in fact an economic benefit, as it correlates to such things as higher applicants, more funding, and better rankings. Public image is something institutions such as Lafayette pay, meaning that every competitive advantage within public relations is needed. In fact, the National School Public Relations Association says school public relations is “the essential ingredient to student and school success” (National School Public Relations Association), evident in “how universities spend big money on public relations” (Contarino, 2016).
To ensure the maximize the investment, costs must be assigned and analyzed with respect to the project. In the mural’s case, finding the right technical ingredients that maximize lifespan and durability is essential. With this technical need, the economic means must be there to allow all requirements to be met. This goes the same for all projects, as the funding must be there to cover costs associated with the project’s budget. In all, the financial costs will be associated with three variables: the course, the course’s products (art), and the maintenance fees for years to come to ensure the preservation of the murals and artwork. Maintenance fees should be dealt with from a fund created specifically for the Lafayette projects. On top of this, all future maintenance fees covering the first ten years of a project should be financed before the artwork is installed; this requires proper financial planning on top of legal advice for what type of funding structure will be put in place. Ten years was established as Chaz Hampton said public art, especially murals are crafted to last at least ten years. Financing for the projects will come from multiple sources, ranging from community, grants, to school connections. Each team should know well in advance the budget their group has to work with. This serves as both a protection to the group’s work, while also giving set financial guidelines to work with. By the school funding these art projects, they are funding the curriculum as well as the creation and implementation of economic development tools for the city of Easton.
In the future, once the course amasses a decent sized portfolio of completed projects, a separate commission should be considered to strictly oversee the maintenance process. This commission, with both community and school members sitting on it will oversee all aspects of the completed art, ranging from the technical to economic components.
Within Lafayette College’s core values, “community engagement” stands proud. As the school expands in size, both in terms of geographical area and population, its town-gown relationship becomes ever more present. Academically, the school is home to a well ranked engineering division in addition to a growing arts department. In the spirit of liberal arts and its core value of “community engagement”, Lafayette can embrace this town-gown relationship and leverage it to achieve internal values and goals. In addition to a positive internal impact, there are plenty on the community, ranging from cultural to economic. This economic impact is powerful, and with art now an accepted economic development tool, Lafayette can turn this curriculum into a tool that is much more than a class. Rather, this program will have real life policy, cultural, and economic impacts. The economic context is deep, and its impact will be long-term.
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