Boston’s downtown arts district, formerly labeled the “combat zone,” has long struggled with racial and social discord, and through intentional displacement of ethnic minority communities has now become home to private universities—including Emerson College. The College first moved to the neighborhood in the mid-1990s, when it acquired its properties through an agreement with the city to rehabilitate the spaces and return them to public-facing use. ArtsEmerson will create a series of residencies that take these venues and transform them into spaces for citywide engagement around the complex civic challenges of race, class, and equity. This project will help develop a vitalized, inclusive, and diverse downtown arts district—a resiliency zone where art meets public dialogue for the sake of meaningful civic and personal transformation.