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Urban Studies
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Why are Non-profit Performing Arts Organisations Successful in Mid-sized US Cities?

Jessie P. H. Poon

Department of Geography, University at Buffalo-SUNY, 105 Wilkeson Quad, Buffalo, New York, 14261, USA, jesspoon{at}buffalo.edu

Christine A. Lai

Business Department, SUNY College at Buffalo, Chase Hall 325, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, 14222, USA, laica{at}buffalostate.edu

This paper examines the locational success of non-profit arts organisations (PAOs) in six mid-sized cities and their metropolitan areas in the United States. The cities are located in the US rust belt and they do not fare well on Florida's creativity index. Yet they are ranked among the top 30 of some 400 North American cultural cities. Based on interviews with 63 performing arts directors, it is found that localisation economies as well as creative capital theories explain the attractiveness of mid-sized cities to the performing arts industry. While urbanisation economy factors were ranked lowly, this may be explained by the non-profit nature of the industry so that a significant share of interfirm or interorganisational linkages is voluntary, donated and informal. The results also reveal that non-profit organisations are relatively embedded in their local urban economies and rely rather heavily on local communities for patronage, performers and reputation.

Urban Studies, Vol. 45, No. 11, 2273-2289 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0042098008095868
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