Across the country, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are proving that arts and culture can transform planning into something more creative, inclusive, and community-centered. With support from the Kresge Foundation and in partnership with the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI), the Culture and Community Network supported staff at MPOs and regional transportation planning organizations to assess, design, and begin implementation of arts and culture strategies for community engagement. Nearly 30 participants across 10 MPOs and regional councils came together for a series of virtual sessions led by SGA staff from April to September 2025. Participants also gathered in Seattle in June for an in-person convening in connection with the National Association of Regional Councils’ Annual Conference. Through the sessions, the cohort learned how to integrate arts and culture within their organizations through guidance from national experts and peer learning opportunities. 

The cohort is diverse in experience, geography, and agency size, serving regions across the country. The teams represent both coasts, the Midwest, and serve regions of a few hundred thousand residents to 19 million people. Each of the groups brings a different perspective on incorporating arts and culture throughout their organizations. While each agency is unique, our initial conversations revealed several similarities among the teams. These agencies are not just testing new ideas—they’re reshaping what’s possible for regional planning. The following case studies celebrate how MPOs are sparking change, building partnerships, and showing that creativity belongs at the heart of planning. 

In Richmond, PlanRVA is at the early stages of weaving arts and culture into regional planning—but its approach is already breaking new ground. Drawing on staff with backgrounds in grassroots organizing, quilting, education, and storytelling, PlanRVA is testing creative ways to make planning more inclusive and culturally sensitive. With support from the Culture and Community Network, the agency is building a foundation for authentic engagement that connects infrastructure decisions to the lived experiences of the community.

In Rockford, IL and Grand Rapids, MI, two smaller MPOs are proving that you don’t need deep resources to make meaningful change. R1 Planning Council is developing a “living toolkit” to connect communities with public art, while Grand Valley Metropolitan Council is partnering with youth and artists to link climate action with creative expression. With support from the Culture and Community Network, both are showing how small steps can spark lasting shifts in how planning engages communities.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is building on more than a decade of arts-related initiatives to move from one-off projects toward a sustained, intentional integration of arts and culture in planning. Through the Culture and Community Network, DVRPC imagined new, creative tools, strengthened partnerships, and embedded artistic thinking across engagement and transportation work. By reflecting on past efforts and testing new approaches, DVRPC is laying the groundwork for arts and culture to become a lasting part of how the region plans for the future.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is exploring how arts and culture can move from individual-led initiatives to a core part of planning practice. Through creative approaches like zines, community art events, and peer learning networks, CMAP staff are experimenting with small, replicable strategies that make engagement more inclusive, imaginative, and impactful. With support from the Culture & Community Network (CCN), the agency is building a foundation to embed creativity into its processes, ensuring that arts and culture inform planning decisions, amplify community voices, and inspire innovative solutions across the region.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments (MTC-ABAG) are exploring how arts and culture can transform regional planning. Through programs like CARE and creative engagement strategies—from artist-led projects to storytelling and cultural placemaking—staff are finding ways to center community voices, strengthen equity, and combine data-driven analysis with human experience. These efforts illustrate how creativity can be embedded into long-range planning, helping the Bay Area deliver on transportation, housing, climate, and economic development goals while making the planning process more inclusive and human-centered.

Metro, the metropolitan planning organization for the greater Portland region, is demonstrating how arts and culture can transform planning practice. Starting with its Community Placemaking grant program, Metro has moved beyond traditional engagement to collaborate with artists, elevate community voices, and reframe planning challenges in creative, accessible ways. Through participation in Smart Growth America’s Culture & Community Network, the agency is expanding these practices agency-wide, centering creativity in long-range visioning, data justice, and regional initiatives like Future Vision and Safe Streets for All. Metro’s experience shows how a regional agency can start small, learn from peers, and embed arts and culture into the core of planning work.

Planners across Kansas’s Flint Hills region are learning by doing—testing small, creative ways to bring arts and culture into transportation planning. From trivia nights to community art events, their experiments show how creativity can make engagement more approachable and inclusive, laying the groundwork for larger-scale change.