SPARC’ing Community Spaces for Arts and Wellness
SPARC’ing Community Spaces for Arts and Wellness
Award of Merit
2023 APA Florida Project Award - Student Project
About this project
The opportunity for community and individual expression that the arts provide are indispensable to the vitality and health of the communities in which they occur. No matter the medium, be it murals, pottery, dance, creative natural spaces, or even community agricultural activities, arts activities allow communities to prioritize and discuss their own values and desires through action. Beyond this, the arts – regardless of the specific activity engaged in – can be extremely fulfilling to individuals. Pottery, for example, might provide a professional path for a community member; acting may give someone the space they need to be themselves. It is with this appreciation in mind that this report attempts to provide analysis and recommendations for the program, Space for People, Arts, Research, and Creative Collaboration and Community (SPARC352). The goal of the research is to bring SPARC352 one step closer to finding a permanent space (or spaces) for an arts and wellness-focused community center in Alachua County and the City of Gainesville.
The report that follows is the work of the Fall Semester 2023 Planning Studio (URP 6341), taught by Dr. Emre Tepe and Dr. Ruth Steiner in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. In this class, students applied the basics of the urban planning process and rigor to a complex issue: finding a permanent space for a budding arts and wellness program in Gainesville, Florida, called SPARC352. Formed through an alliance of community stakeholders, the University of Florida School of the Fine Arts, and UF Health, the cooperative aims “to establish a knowledge and empowerment hub that promotes arts, cultural engagement, entrepreneurial ingenuity, and community capacity building while also striving to enhance health, well-being, economic agency, and social connectedness.” (https://coo.ufl.edu/initiatives/sparc352/).
Initial exploration indicated that Old Firehouse #1 on South Main Street in Downtown Gainesville would encompass the community hub around which SPARC352 could coalesce. With time, however, this location’s feasibility decreased for a number of reasons. This unfortunate turn presented an opportunity for the members of this class to apply their burgeoning skills and present the stakeholders, community members, and governing bodies of Alachua County with a rationale on how SPARC352 may proceed with site selection for a community hub.