Milwaukee Regional Cultural District Report

January 10, 2008

One recurring proposal to aid arts and culture in Milwaukee is to create an arts and culture district. This report aims to present relevant information about such districts. The report first summarizes previous work examining arts and culture in Milwaukee and describes other arts and culture districts in the United States. The next sections examine how public funding for arts and culture in Milwaukee has changed over time, review the theoretical arguments for and against public funding, and present principles for analyzing the economic impact of arts and culture. Finally, the report describes the empirical evidence regarding how arts and culture affect children's learning.