The project "Transit: Creative placemaking in Baltimore" is a cooperation project between the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA), European Union National Cultural Institutes (EUNIC) and EUNIC Washington D.C.

In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.

Creative Placemaking fosters economic development by:

- Recirculating residents' incomes locally at a higher rate,
- Re-use of vacant and underutilized land, buildings, and infrastructure,
- Creating jobs in construction, local businesses, and cultural activity,
- Expanding entrepreneurial ranks of artists and designers,
- Training the next generation of cultural workers,
- Attracting and retaining non-arts-related businesses and skills.

European Union National Cultural Institutes is the network of the international cultural relations institutes from the member states of the European Union. Formed in 2006, it has 27 members from 23 countries including the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington, D.C.

For more information about this project please visit www.europeinbaltimore.org