Public Art and the Topographic City: A Geospatial Analysis of Art Spaces in Pittsburgh
Open Access
- Author:
- Decker, Nicholas P
- Graduate Program:
- Landscape Architecture
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- November 17, 2017
- Committee Members:
- Timothy Murtha, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
C. Timothy Baird, Committee Member
Mallika Bose, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Public Art
Urban Development
Urban Redevelopment
Ekitics
Creative Class
Arts-Based Research
ArcGIS
Critical GIS
Cultural Development
Culture-Based Redevelopment
Sculpture
Data Visualization - Abstract:
- This study relates the pattern of public art in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to culture-based urban renewal. This project will reveal the relationships between the locations of public art, the processes of urban renewal, and the settlement pattern of the city. Post-industrial cities like Pittsburgh use public art projects alongside investment to try to revitalize economically and socially vulnerable places. These attempts can lead to positive revitalization or damaging gentrification or may have no impact. Results largely depend on place-context and the details of the strategy. A database of physical and social features was constructed to use a methodology derived from the study of settlement patterns. Based on spatial relationships between features associated with either positive or negative types of urban development, neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are identified, classified, and analyzed. This analysis reveals the spatial context that contributes to the distribution of public art and its relationship to revitalization projects. In a parallel investigation, these same concepts are explored through an arts practice-based methodology. This methodology creates additional insight into the process of research and the importance of public art research. This study will identify places that may produce positive kinds of growth in a city in need of a new direction. It will also reveal key areas of improvement for public art policy and administration in Pittsburgh and develop tools to understand why public art is important and how better to implement public art plans and maintain public art data.