Artists are moving into troubled neighborhoods across the Midwest by taking advantage of low property prices and local and regional government and non-profit programs.  Artists in Blight Wall Street Journal article

Having spent most of my life in close proximity to Detroit, my first inclination is to applaud any action that puts old buildings back to use, and contributes to active people engaged in the community.  Detroit still needs this.  This will help bring more people. 

 I know people who never go to Detroit and are frankly afraid to do so.  Arts organizations, like The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, are suffering from lower attendance and subscriptions, on top of losing some of their funding from the automotive companies.  The presence of artists seems like it can only be helpful for an ailing area. 

 There are some who disagree.  The WSJ article linked above mentions possible future implications for a neighborhood that welcomes artists; gentrification.  A great example of this is Bucktown, in Chicago.  Once a recovering community that attracted artists and became home to cool bars like the Double Door, Bucktown is now more of a commercially-oriented restaurant haven with an artsy flavor.  A bad thing?  The trouble is that the very people who helped revitalize an area can later be pushed out due to rising property values (as well as the rising tax rates that follow).

Creating neighborhoods with equal accessibility for people with a wide range of economic means has been difficult since the beginning of time.  My opinion is bring the artists into these neighborhoods, and establish this challenge as one they can help brainstorm to overcome.