Smart Growth America believes that everyone in America—no matter their age, ability, income, or race—deserves the option to live somewhere affordable, convenient, beautiful, and safe. And America’s towns and cities deserve investment, stewardship, and supportive, thriving communities.

We believe that art and culture play a crucial role in supporting this vision by providing an organizing force for residents, business owners, and other stakeholders to work towards strengthening neighborhoods, by revealing the authentic character of communities, and by connecting citizens with decision makers to collectively pursue smart, equitable policies and projects.

While there are countless examples of transportation projects that incorporate arts and culture that have succeeded independently of SGA, many of which we highlight across this guide, SGA also leads and supports projects and programs that train artists and transportation professionals to collaborate, bring together practitioners to share best practices on succeeding in this interdisciplinary space, and support on the ground transportation improvements with a focus on creativity and equity.