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This paper examines the nomination of the Williams Avenue YWCA in Portland, Oregon, in the National Register of Historic Places as a crucial event in recognizing and preserving Black heritage within American national history. Our analytical framework combines Black geography and multilevel governance theory (MLG) to examine documents used for the nomination process. We unpack the historic significance of the Williams, illustrating its multifaceted role in Portland's African American community and emphasizing the role of various private and public actors in the nomination process. This analysis reveals that cities play a crucial role in protecting local history and highlights the importance of nurturing connections between cities and other levels of government. Moreover, it illustrates how the documents used for the nomination process are a tool for racial equity and it shows how historic preservation contributes to a more inclusive understanding of cities by celebrating their local, diverse, and pluralistic pasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been growing interest in the urban affairs literature in investigating the role of the arts in the city because of its multifaceted potential to impact a place. To document central elements of the emerging debates on the arts and the city over the last 20 years, we examined key articles on the subject published in the Journal of Urban Affairs and highlighted their links with several special issues of other journals. The debates canvased over this time can be organized as (1) defining artists as human capital, (2) studying cultural amenities, and (3) examining the role of art around the city. This analysis uncovers some of the themes, methods, and places articulating these academic debates and identifies pivotal overarching economic, symbolic, and social issues. The paper suggests that key directions for future research include widening the journals to be analyzed; developing bibliometric analyses; broadening the geographic selection of case studies, including research in languages other than English; and encouraging more special journal issues focused on art and the city to facilitate multidisciplinary conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates issues of national identity and multi-level governance within Confederation Boulevard, the heart of Canada's National Capital Region. We develop a framework that combines the literature on cultural districts and multi-level governance and analyse the plans written by the National Capital Commission (NCC) from the 1980s to the 2010s. Through the lens of cultural districts, we focus on urban form as a whole, instead of considering just specific artifacts or buildings, and uncover how over time the NCC is designing a representation of national identity moving towards multiculturalism. Moreover, the lens of cultural districts delineates a space for multi-level governance revealing the emergence of dynamics of negotiation among different levels of government towards territorial cooperation. This analysis of Confederation Boulevard contributes to the literature on planning capital cities beyond the specific case, adding to our understanding of (1) urban representation of national identity and (2) dynamics of a layered governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intersection of historic preservation and urban planning has advanced over the years. Revitalization has been a central theme for this intersection, but the literature has not yet analyzed how a comprehensive plan—a crucial planning tool for growth and development—has included preservation. In this study, I investigate how the city of Portland (OR) integrated historic preservation into its comprehensive plan, focusing on the 1993 Albina Community Plan. Portland developed a comprehensive plan considering several scales, resulting in an array of documents released over the years. Through a neo-institutional analysis, I look at these documents to understand 1) the underlying institutions—such as compliance procedures, formal rules, and operating practices—that frame preservation policies within a comprehensive plan and 2) the approach to preservation implied in these policies. The findings show how including preservation into planning is structured by different levels of government, developed through an array of documents covering different scales, and is part of an effort to enhance the vitality of neighborhoods. Overall, preservation is framed as a way of managing community assets, bringing attention to the history of the local community, its people, and its built and natural environments. However, historic districts, which are the major preservation efforts emerging from the plan, lack the strengths of both a comprehensive approach to planning and an urbanistic approach to preservation. My analysis shows the relevance of studying a comprehensive plan to understand how planning included preservation: It highlights the connection with preservation theories, the value of document analysis, and the importance of scale. In particular, a neo-institutional analysis reveals the mechanisms shaping policies. By examining these mechanisms in their own cities, planners and preservationists could better understand the work of previous administrations, contextualize the current situation, and recognize the elements to act upon for promoting systematic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses multi-level governance theory to investigate American cultural policy towards the arts and humanities. The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 articulates the value of the arts and humanities for the American people, providing the foundation for the development of a complex bureaucracy at state and federal levels. The resulting multi-level governance model highlights the interplay among public agencies at federal and state levels, the links with nonprofit organizations, the varied organizational structures that imply different mechanisms for involving citizens, and the diverse sources of funding. These findings show how American cultural policy is based on a fragmented but coordinated bureaucracy that supports a pluralistic society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]