Advocacy and Public Policy

Every decade or two, the professions of architecture and city planning are captivated by a movement with a particularly catchy name. Currently, the popular term is placemaking — a fairly loose term that is running neck and neck with “sustainability.” Within the design professions, this movement — really more a philosophy — suggests that people’s lives can be made better by intentionally designing interior and exterior spaces to embrace a wide range of users, provide for safety, and create artful expressions that endure over time.

June 2013, 68 pages. National Center on Time & Learning, 24 School Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 378-3940, www.timeandlearning.org.

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As the policy landscape changes, and dedicated federal funding streams become a thing of the past, Grantmakers in the Arts, through the Arts Education Funders Coalition, is looking toward the future to identify policy opportunities to promote equitable access to arts education in public schools. An essential question for this work is how to utilize and enhance existing federal education resources to include a systemic focus on arts education that benefits state and local programs.

The Problem and the Necessity of Action

52 pages, May 2012. National Governors Association, NGA Center for Best Practices, 444 N. Capitol Street, Suite 267, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 624-5300, www.nga.org/center.

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   New Engines of Growth (3.3Mb)

44 pages, March 2012. The Education Policy and Leadership Center, 800 North Third Street, Suite 408, Harrisburg, PA, 17102, (717) 260-9900, www.aei-pa.org.

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January 2012, 112 pages. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, One Michigan Avenue East, Battle Creek, MI 49017-4012, (269) 968-1611, www.wkkf.org

My theme for today: Whose children have been left behind?