An
arts district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a
city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as
art galleries,
dance clubs,
theatres,
art cinemas, music venues, and public squares for performances. Such an area is usually encouraged by public policy-making and planning, but sometimes occurs spontaneously. It is associated with allied service-industry jobs like cafes, printers, fashion outlets, restaurants, and a variety of 'discreet services' (see the back-page small-ads of almost any cultural events-listings magazine).