The role of Cross-sector collaboration and longstanding stakeholder commitment in organizing to advance cultural community development within the context of broader economic development: A case study of deep ellum Texas

ABSTRACT Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas is a rich example of a community that has grown for over one hundred years thanks to the arts. This case study explores how the Deep Ellum district has endeavored to keep art, music, culture and history at the center of how the community develops. Several local organizations have organized and channeled the efforts of property and businesses owners, residents and patrons invested in the neighborhood to amplify a shared vision. What makes the joint efforts authentic and robust are the cross-sector engagement and longstanding commitment to Deep Ellum of the stakeholders involved. Strategic planning and an increasingly integrated network of local organizations could not create but merely serve to leverage the passion, artistic contribution, and resource investment already present. The district demonstrates that consistency and collaboration across a variety of stakeholder types can help keep the arts at the center of the neighborhoods’ development.