By Derek Douglas, vice president for civic engagement at the University of Chicago Derek Douglas is the vice president for civic engagement at the University of Chicago. Below, he writes about the Place Project, a national model for revitalizing communities through arts and culture supported by Knight Foundation. Student Nkosi Barber, 20, of Chicago uses a saw in the carpentry workshop for the Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP) at the Arts Incubator in Chicago, Friday, June 14, 2013. Photo by Bonnie Trafelet.

As an urban research university located in one of America’s largest metropolitan areas, the University of Chicago is deeply enriched by the city we call home. We are also deeply invested in it—and in how what we do here can impact other cities around the world.

Many of the UChicago’s top scholars have devoted their efforts to the improvement of urban health, access to jobs, housing, education and public safety, with an eye toward establishing best practices. The arts are also an essential element of our broad social commitment. We believe arts and culture have the power to bring communities together and enhance the vibrancy and economic vitality of neighborhoods.

The Place Project is the UChicago’s latest investment in that belief and is aimed at testing a model for community development that supports arts and culture to transform communities and, importantly, expanding that model to communities across the country. This project will be led by Theaster Gates, who has pioneered work in this field.

Trained as a multimodal artist and an urban planner, Theaster is recognized internationally as a leader in harnessing the power of arts and culture for positive transformation of underinvested neighborhoods. He is also director of Arts and Public Life, an initiative created by the UChicago in 2011 to strengthen its connections with the civic, cultural and artistic communities of the South Side.

In March 2013, UChicago launched the flagship project of Arts and Public Life, the Arts Incubator in Washington Park, a dedicated space—envisioned by Theaster—for artists to grow professionally and to connect to the surrounding community. The Arts Incubator is one of the ways UChicago is aiming to be a catalyst for strong neighborhoods in the heart of Chicago’s South Side and to more deeply engage with our community as an anchor institution. Already, it has been an exciting opportunity for rich partnerships. In just a year, it has become a model for university investment in social and cultural innovation in Chicago and throughout the country.

By building on the successful launch of the Arts Incubator, the Place Project will further our efforts to tap into the creative energy and civic aspirations of artists, residents and partners from across Chicago. Culture-driven community development holds great promise, but it is just beginning to gain traction among researchers, politicians, planners and policymakers.  The Place Project will greatly accelerate that process.

With the backing of one of the world’s leading research institutions and support from Knight Foundation, the Place Project has the potential to yield data, models and lessons that will inspire and enhance cities across America.