You can't just will urban revitalization into happening, but if you can harness the potential of your city's creative individuals, you can make any neighborhood thrive. Case in point: Chattanooga, Tennessee's CreateHere, an organization that's helping bring about a renaissance for the city.MISSION VITALS Founded in 2007 by Helen Johnson and Josh McManus; after conducting a citywide survey to meet community needs, CreateHere launched four intuitively named initiatives-ArtsMove, LeadHere, MakeWork, SpringBoard-to fund and train the future leaders of the city; the Southside neighborhood office is a gallery and meeting place for lectures, screenings, and community events.ACCOLADES CreateHere's role in creating leadership programs, funding public and private artists, and facilitating creative efforts of Southside businesses has gotten tons of ink in local papers-especially after announcing that it generated $450,000 in grants for 57 local artists this year.WHY IT WORKS The statement behind the community-organized Stand initiative, in which CreateHere is asking 25,000 Chattanooga residents four questions on how to improve the city (making it the world's largest survey-based community visioning effort), sums it up perfectly: "Many voices: one vision: a greater community."PLANS FOR THE FUTURE Taking the results of the Stand survey and figuring out how to implement them; continuing to foster aesthetic, functional, and cultural growth in the city.
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