Overview:
Hyesun Jeong, a University of Cincinnati urban design researcher, has received an NEA grant to study the impact of public art on street vitality and commerce in multiple U.S. cities. Her previous study found that murals in areas with higher housing and retail density attract higher foot traffic, demonstrating the potential economic impact of the arts.
By Angela Koenig
UC Communications
Hyesun Jeong, University of Cincinnati urban design researcher, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to determine how public art relates to street vitality and the growth of commercial business in multiple U.S. cities.
Researchers will be looking at the relationship between the arts and commerce using data analysis of five U.S cities, including Cincinnati, said Jeong, an assistant professor in UC’s School of Planning within the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). Jeong is leading the project as a principal investigator.
This NEA project expands the boundary of a prior study on public murals and foot traffic in Cincinnati, which received the Faculty Scholars Research Award by UC’s University Research Council in 2023.
Using pedestrian database StreetLight Data, as well as socioeconomics and spatial data, the study found that the quality of the urban context of murals, such as the density of housing and retail, is significantly associated with foot traffic. Jeong found that the average weekend foot traffic in the areas having murals is 30% higher than the city’s average weekend foot traffic.
“Certain types (and numbers) of commercial amenities synergize more with murals on bringing in foot traffic,” Jeong said. “For example, when these murals are surrounded by 10 different food-serving amenities in the same area, such as restaurants, bars and cafes, the weekend foot traffic becomes even higher, nearly five times greater than the city average.”
Further, Jeong notes that while crime has increased between 2010 and 2020 in most areas of Cincinnati, violent crime has decreased 28% in the areas, including the Over-the-Rhine, where murals are surrounded by mixed-use properties and a housing density at 10 units per acre or more.
As part of Jeong’s team, second-year graduate student Yajie Hu adds, “Public art is receiving more and more attention on the urban planning agenda, and I am curious about the interaction of street art types with community commerce models.”
Hu said the experience as a research assistant on a prestigious NEA grant is a prime example of how DAAP provides graduate students with hands-on learning experiences.
The new study, Jeong said, will seek to find the economic impact of the arts on different types of commercial business and pedestrian traffic. Her hypothesis, based on mural research and prior urban design research, is that public art — that includes murals, sculptures, museums, performing theaters and the like — enhances both vitality and commerce where it is located.