This blog was authored by Bella Alvarado, an NLC Menino Fellow and edited by Georgia Gempler.
When most people think of public art in transportation, they picture a mural under a highway overpass. Something nice to look at, but ultimately decorative. Across the country, though,cities are proving that public art in transportation spaces can do far more than beautify. It can make streets safer (PDF), sustain local economies, and change how communities participate in planning.
Improving Pedestrian Safety
Murals on sidewalks, streets, and crosswalks make drivers slow down and pay attention.In Washington, D.C., the Color the Curb program brings community-designed murals to school crosswalks where children are most vulnerable. The program coordinates three agencies: DDOT identifies high-traffic crossings through its Safe Routes to School initiative, the Commission on Arts and Humanities manages artist funding and onboarding, and DC Public Schools facilitates engagement at the school level, where students and teachers collaborate directly with artists on the design process.
Programs like these are part of a growing national movement. The Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative has supported 100 similar projects across North America and Europe, and a Bloomberg-commissioned safety study (PDF) of 17 sites found a
50% decrease in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists, a 37% reduction in injury-causing crashes, and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians after asphalt art was installed.
Even smaller-scale interventions like micromobility corrals — street murals that create protected parking for bikes and scooters — are showing promising results by physically narrowing the roadway and prompting drivers to slow down.
Rethinking Community Engagement
Forget town halls; creative community engagement is more effective. Traditional public hearings rarely reach the communities most affected by transportation decisions, and some cities are turning to artists to change that. When Boston set out to build a long-term transportation plan, the GoBoston 2030 initiative began by sending a glass truck into neighborhoods across the city to collect residents’ questions about the future of mobility. That “Question Campaign,” combined with social media and community events, gathered over 5,000 responses. The city then partnered with the Design Studio for Social Intervention to build a two-day Visioning Lab where over 650 residents interacted with multimedia exhibits, drew their visions for mobility, and responded to draft planning goals, all in a space activated by local artists, performers, and musicians. The process generated more than 3,700 ideas and produced a plan for 58 projects, of which more than half are now underway (Go Boston 2030 ReVisioned). When cities get creative about how they listen, they can unlock the perspectives of hard-to-reach residents, leading to more equitable and responsive transportation outcomes.
Mitigating Construction Disruption
Construction doesn’t have to mean destruction for local businesses. Major infrastructure projects can devastate the neighborhoods they are meant to serve, disrupting businesses, displacing foot traffic, and straining community relationships. In Saint Paul, Minnesota, the Irrigate program offered one answer. During Green Line light rail construction along University Avenue, Springboard for the Arts partnered with the city to deploy roughly 600 neighborhood artists along the corridor. Artists were paired directly with small businesses, creating storefront installations, organizing block parties that drew foot traffic back to the construction zone, and helping local owners stay visible during years of disruption. Over 36 months, those artists completed 150 creative placemaking projects and generated over 50 million positive media impressions, shifting the corridor’s narrative (Irrigate Toolkit). The model has since been adopted by cities including Cleveland, OH; Nashville, TN; and Mesa, AZ.
None of these projects happened by accident. Each one was made possible by city leaders who championed the work, cross-departmental collaborations that broke down silos between transportation, arts, and public works agencies, and strong partnerships with community organizations that brought credibility and local knowledge to the table.
Where to Start:
- Assess your city’s needs. Work with your Department of Transportation to analyze existing data: crash reports, 311 complaints, construction timelines and engagement gaps. Where are the pain points and where might art offer a creative solution?
- Encourage cross-departmental collaboration. These projects need champions inside government who will navigate permitting, coordinate across agencies and advocate internally. Find staff in transportation, public works, or planning who are willing to lead, and ask your arts and culture department, staff member, or nonprofit partner to assist with project management and artist coordination.
- Connect with your Local Arts Agency. Discuss the kinds of artists you’ll need for certain projects, both in skillset and expertise, that you’ll need for certain projects. You likely don’t need to start from scratch. Local arts councils, public art commissions, and nonprofit intermediaries often have networks of artists ready to collaborate. Host an open call, attend a local arts event, or reach out to an intermediary to start the conversation.
- Make procurement accessible. Ensure that your city’s existing procurement and contracting processes are easy for artists to navigate, and if they aren’t, make the necessary changes. Outline how you will compensate your artists. Many cities start with external funding through grants, philanthropy, or business improvement district budgets while building dedicated budget lines within city agencies.
- Engage your community. Public art projects cannot be a collaboration between the artist and the city alone. Community members need a voice in the process to increase the likelihood of positive reception and long-term success.
These steps serve as building blocks for the strong foundational partnerships that push creative work forward.
Cities that integrate art into their transportation processes see the results: safer streets, more inclusive engagement, and strong economic resilience.
Celebrate National Arts & Health Day
Join NLC in celebrating National Arts & Health Day on Saturday, July 25, by highlighting how the arts contribute to the wellbeing of your community. Proclaim the 26th as National Arts & Health Day in your city, town or village and then join the conversation on social media by showing off artwork from your hometown with the official National Arts & Health Day social frame.
About the Author
Health & Wellbeing Capacity Building Series: From Vision to Action
Creativity and Collaboration for Healthier Cities
National Arts & Health Day
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