Murals and Public Art in the Placemaking Process
Whale Tower by Wyland, Detroit (Source: Wyland Foundation)
When I was little, I was given an art book of artist-conservationist Robert Wyland’s portfolio. Wyland, a Madison Heights native and College for Creative Studies graduate, is particularly famous for his Whaling Walls. These murals depict whales, dolphins, and other marine life splashing across buildings and infrastructure across the world. One of them, Whale Tower, is visible (when not covered by advertising) from the infield at Comerica Park. It depicts a family of humpback whales swimming and breaching across Broderick Tower. To me, those whales are as important a part of Detroit as its sports teams and places like Midtown, Greektown, Avenue of Fashion, Motown, and the Riverfront.
Murals and other forms of public art are the most accessible artworks in our communities. They are plainly visible and sometimes even interactive. They are not only appealing to look at but often evoke viewers’ feelings and define the places they inhabit. Their uniqueness and allure can serve as much of an attraction to residents and visitors as shops, restaurants, parks, and stadiums. Someone who stops to appreciate a mural may be inclined to shop around the area, research the subject of the painting, and tell their friends and loved ones about their visit. Bethany Howard, MCD, City Walls Program Manager with the City of Detroit, refers to this as “dwelling time.”
SEMCOG’s 2026 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is built upon three pillars: Great Places, Regional Prosperity, and Economic Resilience. While these three pillars work with each other, the usage of public art, murals, and participatory art spaces emphasize Great Places by creating unique, attractive, and iconic locales. The Great Places Pillar has four Strategies where murals and public art can be crucial tools:
- Developing and Promoting High-Quality Places
- Leveraging Environmental, Recreational, and Cultural Assets
- Revitalizing Downtowns and Neighborhoods
- Enhancing Local and Regional Land-Use Planning
Much of this is possible through two comprehensive processes known as “placemaking” and “placekeeping.” The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) describes placemaking as the following:
Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.
Placekeeping, meanwhile, is a form of maintenance and upkeep that extends beyond repairs and upgrades. It involves the activities, engagement, and enhancement of the space to remain a fixture of the surrounding area and community. Placekeeping may even result in a complete redesign of the original place, so long as the spirit and intent of the process is preserved.
37135 Goddard Road Mural by Fel3000ft, Romulus
Public art also helps to establish and celebrate the identity of the community. They can tell stories about the industries, events, and people that shape local history and culture. For example, the City of Romulus, funded by a Small Business Administration grant and in collaboration with residents and the Romulus Downtown Development Authority, commissioned local artist Fel3000ft to paint a mural at 37135 Goddard Road depicting the City’s cultural and industrial history, including automotive, aircraft, and locomotive production and the community’s role as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
From left to right: Corner of E. Clinton Street and State Street by PADNOS; Howell Recycling Center, Howell; Public Musical Instruments by Percussion Play, Mount Clemens; Crosswalk Art at Washington Street by Justin Rose, New Baltimore; Mural at 124 Water Street, Marine City; Conductor Box Painting by Jeremy Paskell, Pontiac; The Shape of Home by Kelly O’Neill, Brighton; Public Piano, painted and donated by Sienna Dietza, Brighton
However, public art is not medium-specific and can include many different types of installations, such as those pictured below: sculptures, public musical instruments, playground equipment, crosswalk paintings, fountains, public furniture, and even event-centric pieces like art exhibitions and lighting displays.
Public art can focus on a community’s heritage and identity, such as the hot air balloon sculpture in Howell commemorating the Michigan Challenge Balloonfest, or it can simply be a way to beautify and engage residents in the community, such as the public instruments in Mount Clemens and Brighton. In many cases, an art installation may become part of the community itself, with notable examples being Halo in Sterling Heights and the Uniroyal Giant Tire in Allen Park. New installations like these may come with controversy, but they can become appreciated and even symbolic parts of the area over time. Outside of art installations, famous works of architecture also cement the character of locales across Southeast Michigan, and may be considered works of public art themselves.
From Left to Right: Uniroyal Giant Tire, Allen Park; The Halo, Sterling Heights
Murals as Economic Development
While murals may not passively produce income on their own, their relationship with their surroundings most certainly do. According to a 2019 article from Sustainability, “How Can Street Art Have Economic Value?” the City of Philadelphia’s Art Program has commissioned over 3,000 murals since 1984, employing 250 artists and teaching artists, “contributing about $2.7 million to Philadelphia’s creative economy.” Public programs, such as commissioning murals and holding design competitions, nourish the creative economy. Murals also give artists notable additions to their portfolios, support galleries and suppliers, and attract visitors to the businesses behind and around the mural.
A 2016 report from the University of Central Arkansas Center for Community and Economic Development also presents murals as a low-cost economic development tool, stating:
They can be fast and cheap. Though the process for creating a mural can take close to a year, the actual time needed to paint the mural is only one to two months. Considering the high cost of other development projects, murals only cost between $25,000 and $35,000* for the artist, scaffolding, paints, signage, and other supplies. This makes them financially accessible to many communities, though pooling of local resources is usually necessary.
* Approximately $34,000 to $47,500 in 2026 dollars.
In addition to supporting solo artists and collectives, projects like Make a Wave in Farmington also platform local studios and galleries that create works for both public and private display. In this case, local ceramics studio and store Fired and Fused finalized the tilework and assembled the panels. As a result, public art fuels economic development simultaneously through placemaking and direct investment into the creative economy.
Participatory Art
Participatory art intentionally involves the public in the creative process. This can be a direct installation but also includes areas where anyone can openly participate in creating their own art. In Brighton, their Color by the Number mural was completed by the public in the style of “painting-by-the-number” style coloring pages, which allowed each resident to pick a preferred spot and color to fill in. In Farmington, the Make a Wave mural consists of 42 panels of 672 engraved and glazed ceramic tiles, each provided by community members ranging from children and families to local businesses, and even visitors from their Sister City of Vacri, in Italy
Above Left: Color by Number (in progress), Brighton
Below Left: Make a Wave, assembled by Fired and Fused, Farmington
In addition to events and festivals, including competitions to bring in local public artists, participatory art is an active and pivotal means of creating a sense of community pride and identity. In keeping with the spirit of placemaking celebrating the communities built by the people that live in them, this type of art is the clearest expression of defining and elevating any public place, be it the wall of a building, an alleyway, a plaza, or any similar public space.
Similarly, pieces like Bring Your Chalk and Draw On Me by Adnan Charara allow the public to engage with the artwork at their own leisure. By providing public means to express creativity, visitors can may also be enticed to see other installations in the area. Many people’s first exposure to street art was when they drew on pavement with sidewalk chalk as kids, and so pieces like Bring Your Chalk connect younger and older alike to creatively express and explore.
If you have any questions about murals, placemaking and placekeeping, downtown economic development, or would like to know more about how SEMCOG engages in these spaces, please contact me!
Contact Noah Bussell
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