Strong, Prosperous and Resilient Communities Challenge

SPARCC is a three-year, $90 million initiative designed to ensure that major infrastructure investments advance racial equity, health, and climate resilience in cities and regions across the United States. Led by a national consortium including Enterprise Community Partners, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Low Income Investment Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council — with support from major national foundations — SPARCC amplifies locally driven efforts to shape more just and sustainable urban futures.

The initiative recognizes that investments in transportation, housing, and infrastructure are never neutral. Without intentional design, large-scale development can reinforce displacement and inequity. SPARCC supports regional networks in identifying leverage points where policy, capital, and community leadership can align to produce shared benefit.

As lead creative placemaking consultant, Kiley Arroyo oversaw the systemic integration of arts, culture, creativity, and design across the initiative.

This work involved:

• Embedding cultural strategy into regional infrastructure planning
• Supporting grantees in integrating creative practice into policy and investment processes
• Advancing collaboration across housing, health, climate, and community development sectors
• Strengthening narrative and design strategies to center community voice

Rather than positioning arts and culture as ancillary, the engagement treated them as essential levers for systems transformation — expanding imagination, strengthening relational trust, and shaping more inclusive decision-making.

This project reflects CSC’s broader commitment to aligning cultural intelligence with structural investment — ensuring that large-scale public and private capital flows contribute to regenerative, community-centered development.