Artists need cheap living costs, but their presence improves a community and the property values. The State of Colorado and private developers are creating affordable housing and work spaces for artists in neighborhoods they want to thrive.

In 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy because of a poor economy. While the city’s industrial businesses have floundered, the art scene has thrived, bringing in new sources of income through art galleries and investments in contemporary art. This new art scene is one factor to measure Detroit’s recovery and prospects of growth for the future.

Oberhausen is long past its heyday and its railway station exemplifies this, its run down and filled with empty spaces. However, now the space is being developed into a cultural area as well as one for art and innovation, while also offering work opportunities to refugees to help with the renewal project.

Turin used to be a bustling hub for the automobile industry but since then it has been left as a dead industrial area. The Ex-incet development aims to change this by using an old company's headquarters to be the site where innovation and creativity can be brought together as people from different sectors work under the same roof.

An ad-hoc community that sprung up around a former military bunker in what is now Taipei was initially seen by the city government as a blight, with irregular buildings that violated structural codes and its self-contained disposal system that looked unsightly. But when Finnish architect Marco Casagrande examined the area, he discovered that its residents had created a truly revolutionary community more eco-friendly than the surrounding city; so "Treasure Hill" was transformed into an artist community that serves as a model for sustainable urbanism.

Paterson, NJ used to be a home to manufacturing industries, many of which no longer exist in New Jersey. Fortunately, old factories are being repurposed in new ways. The oldest textile factory is now thriving as The Art Factory, a studio and art space for designers, artists, and builders of all types. Not only does it help artists, but it also helps the environment by revitalizing an old space rather than knocking it down and building something new.

In order to provide arts organizations with stable homes in the midst of rising property costs, the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) has purchased properties in San Francisco. These properties are sold to the arts organization, and the organization pays in the form of long term loans that carry no interest.

In order to secure affordable housing for artists in neighborhoods at risk of gentrification and displacement, Artspace purchases and renovates buildings across the country. Tenants are selected by a lottery with priority given to artists who are already residents of the neighborhood.

As artists of color are routinely marginalized or erased from art history, black gallerists have served a critical role to support and champion black artists. Gallerists provide an entry point for artists as well as promoting work to collectors and institutions and protecting the context in which the work is displayed.

An Oakland nonprofit that uses art for therapy has a startling track record for helping developmentally disabled adults become prolific—and profitable—artists.