Downtown Reading, PA Arts & Culture Plan

Reading, PA, is a former industrial city poised for new opportunities thanks to population growth and an influx of new industries and educational opportunities downtown. The City of Reading retained Stantec to create a Downtown Strategic Master Plan to create a plan that builds on Reading’s unique blend of history, living culture, and diversity to emerge as the region’s engine for economic opportunity and equity. As part of that process, I created the Arts and Cultural Plan, which created a complete picture of the arts downtown and identified how the City of Reading can support existing efforts and nurture new initiatives.

Through interviews with over a dozen arts and cultural leaders and residents, I identified the consistent themes and aspirations, which were given a full accounting in the report. The report’s recommendations were actionable and included many low- or no-cost efforts for city leaders to significantly enhance their support of Reading’s vibrant downtown arts scene.

Stantec’s plan, which includes a condensed version of the arts and cultural plan, can be found here: https://www.readingpa.gov/images/pdfs/Reading_Downtown_Strategic_Master_Plan_v2021-2-22-22.pdf