Supported by Surdna and NY Community Trust, Study Shows How Arts and Culture Improve Health, Safety and Well-being in NYC
Low- and moderate-income residents in New York City neighborhoods with many cultural resources are healthier, better educated, and safer overallthan those in similar communities with fewer creative resources, according to a groundbreaking study by the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. And the results hold true in all five of the City's boroughs.
The school's Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP) examined New York's "neighborhood cultural ecosystem" (e.g., creative nonprofits and for-profits, entertainment venues, news outlets, bookstores, artists, and so forth), which makes New York City the cultural capital of the world. While many studies have looked at the economic impact of the arts, this research documented how they improve the quality of life for ordinary New Yorkers. The study was funded by the NYC Cultural Agenda Fund in The New York Community Trust and Surdna Foundation...