Creative Counties Placemaking Initiative
Integrating arts into solutions to local challenges
Developed in partnership with Americans for the Arts and with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Counties Placemaking Initiative equips county leaders with tools and resources to identify and strengthen ways to integrate the arts into solutions to local challenges.
Creative Placemaking Toolkit for Counties
Webinars
NACo's webinars are free to everyone and recorded for viewing after the live event. Recent webinars have included:
- Building Arts-Driven Community and Economic Development Solutions for Your County
- Leveraging New Tools & Resources to Build the Arts in Your County
- Telling Your Community Story: Strengthening Economies through Place Branding
Check out all of NACo's upcoming and past Creative Counties webinars here.
Resource Hubs
- Arts & Economic Prosperity 6
- Arts & Economic Prosperity 5
- Social Impact Explorer
- 2019 Profile of Local Arts Agencies
- Animating Democracy
- Local Arts Agency Dashboard
Reports
- Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 National Statistical Report
- Business Support for the Arts 2021: Art for Everyone's Sake
- Community-Based Arts Organizations: A New Center of Gravity
- Building Worlds Together: The Many Functions and Forms of Arts and Community Development
- Programs Supporting Art in the Public Realm: A National Field Scan
- Artists & Communities: Conversations on Passion, Practice, and Engagement
- Animating Democracy--Aesthetic Perspectives
- Animating Democracy--Diving into Racial Equity
- Creative City Report
- Local Arts Agency Partnerships: Types, Components, and Impacts
Fact Sheets
Dive Deep
Explore All Arts & Culture Resources
Explore all of NACo's resources on arts and culture, including latest news and resources, related committees and featured initiatives.
New disaster recovery grants now open to support county economic development
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has launched the Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program, making $1.45 billion available to help communities recover from natural disasters and build long-term economic resilience. Counties affected by major disaster declarations in 2023 or 2024 are eligible to apply for funding to rebuild infrastructure, strengthen local economies and prepare for future disruptions. This program goes beyond immediate recovery, aiming to transform local economies and foster sustainable, long-term economic growth.
California county helps homeowners build ADUs
Napa County, Calif. created a forgivable loan for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units to aid rental housing affordability.
County analyzes data, seeks community input for comprehensive growth plan
As Howard County, Md. grew and became more diverse, HoCo By Design analyzed data and engaged the community to draw more input to help plan the county’s future.
NACo testifies before Congress on brownfields revitalization
On May 7, Oswego County, N.Y. Clerk Terry Wilbur testified on behalf of NACo before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment at a hearing titled “Cleaning Up the Past, Building the Future: The Brownfields Program”.
County’s groundwork helps set the stage for energy breakthrough
Amid the high-level work that put groundbreaking geothermal energy projects into Beaver County, Utah, the local work has been crucial to making the endeavors a success.
New BRECC Toolkit: Coal Communities’ Pathways for Economic Diversification
Join the BRECC National Network to learn how coal counties are diversifying their economies through increasing housing supply, providing innovative workforce development opportunities and revitalizing downtowns.
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