The traditional instruments of urban planning and community development cannot always meet the complex challenges that many communities face today. Innovative solutions are needed. Among these, one that holds immense promise is collective creativity. Many Studio William Cochran public art projects utilize community engagement methods to leverage the imaginative power of the community as a catalyst for vitality. The artist invites people of all ages and backgrounds to contribute creative content to help shape the meaning and design of the work. This allows the work to speak with many individual voices and, in some case, a more collective voice. It connects dissimilar people and kindles a sense of participation and ownership. In an unmistakable way, it reveals unseen strengths -- strengths of eloquent and inspirational value -- within the community, focusing them in a symbolic and lasting way at the core of the city, where they can benefit many sectors over the years. Public participation gives the work a perspective and an impact far beyond what can be generated by an individual artist working alone. These projects explore and demonstrate a shared creativity, a collective efficacy - what is sometimes called co-creation. Large scale participatory artworks can become catalysts for community health on economic, cultural, social and educational levels simultaneously. They foster a virtuous circle of strategic transformation that can help revive downtowns and strengthen the sometimes unrecognized or overlooked bonds that tie a community together. The value of this approach has moved beyond theory. The prototype, Community Bridge, drew creative participation from across the nation and from some thirty other countries. It helped ignite development of the long-stalled park around it, with total new public and private development around the bridge now exceeding three hundred and fifty million dollars and growing. Equally important, the bridge helped shift attitudes and park development in a more community-friendly, mixed-use direction that has made it a new economic engine for its city. The new park and neighborhood development supports downtown vitality and social, economic and cultural diversity. Leaders say well over a thousand new jobs will be generated, and these new jobs have been stimulated within walking distances of stressed neighborhoods where they are most needed. An estimated fifty thousand people a year visit Community Bridge, many on guided tours where they hear the stories of this unusual project that speaks wth the voices of people from all backgrounds. "Community Bridge has brought community focus to a declining industrial area of the town, created significant capital investment to areas surrounding project site, and helped tourism to revitalize in this area . . architectural, artistic and cultural development in this community increased while problems related to racial tension began declining. As a consequence, the concept of this initiative has been replicated by groups nationwide . . . Today the bridge has become a symbol for shared values all over the world [and has] been tremendously successful at uniting people, building a broad sense of ownership, creating synergies between sectors, redirecting public and private investments, and strengthening communities for change." –– Nil S. Navie, Arts in Peace Building and Community Development "As one who has dealt with art and its relationship to society since the 1960's, I have not experienced a more successful effort in dealing with issues of race, ethnicity and community participation." --- Floyd Coleman, Chair, Art Department, Howard University "Community Bridge is a powerful demonstration of the contributions of art to community health. The project helped inspire the founding of the Arts and Health Outreach Initaitive at Penn State, which documents the interrelationships between the arts and health, including holistic community health and well-being." --- Ermyn King, Coordinator, Arts & Health Outreach Initiative The Pennsylvania State University