Mayors' Institute on City Design

25TH ANNIVERSARY INITIATIVE

The Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative (MICD25) supports creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform sites into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core. Twenty-one grants were awarded under the initiative, ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 (see list below). Each of the projects takes a problem, such as isolated neighborhoods or a neglected waterfront, and uses the arts to solve that problem. The aesthetic and communal qualities of art make them excellent construction materials for transforming physical spaces. The grants focus in four specific areas: reuse of abandoned space, commissioning public art, cultural district planning, and new ways of designing infrastructure. Although the arts are at the center of each project, the projects themselves are partnerships among municipal, not-for-profit, and commercial entities in each community.