Arts District

An arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, dance clubs, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually encouraged by public policy-making and planning, but sometimes occurs spontaneously. It is associated with allied service-industry jobs like cafes, printers, fashion outlets, restaurants, and a variety of 'discreet services' (see the back-page small-ads of almost any cultural events-listings magazine).

There may also be some artists' studios located in nearby back-streets. But, as Richard Florida has found from his research, cultural production facilities are often better sited some miles away from cultural consumption facilities - except in some very tolerant cities and in countries where a boisterous alcohol-based nightlife scene does not lead to aggressive and anti-social behaviour.

In the UK the term sometimes used is "Cultural quarter" or "Arts quarter".

Notable arts districts in the USA include:

• Arts District, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Arts District, Dallas, Texas
• Arts District, Portland, Maine
• Crossroads Arts District, Kansas City, Missouri
• Cultural Center Historic District, Detroit, Michigan
• Downtown Arts District, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Gateway Arts District, Hyattsville/Mount Rainier/Brentwood/North Brentwood, Maryland
• Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia
• Noho Arts District, Los Angeles, California
• Ray Street Arts District in North Park, San Diego, California
• Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
• Short North, Columbus, Ohio
• Uptown, Oakland, California
• Miller Beach Arts and Creative District, Gary, Indiana
• NoBo Art District, Boulder, Colorado

Art districts in London include:

• Shoreditch
• Broadway Market