Reminds me of the notion behind Richard Florida's Creative Class: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_class He's collected a number of case studies on this and has comprehensive thoughts on the subject.

In the example of South Beach/Miami Beach: first came the artists, then the gays, then the students, then the Gap.

I witnessed this phenomenon first-hand in the revitalization of South Beach/Miami Beach. Before South Beach was a tourist destination, back in the late 80’s it was a dilapidated part of town infested with drug dealers & crack addicts and littered with run-down hotels that had been converted to senior rest homes, many of which lined the now famous Ocean Drive.

Artists started to arrive to South Beach when one by one the run-down hotels on Ocean Drive started to be converted to boutique hotels. Artists were employed to paint murals and design art-deco style lobbies, lounges & guest rooms. Many of these artists happen to be gay and thus a gay community emerged in South Beach that spurred the opening of new trendy restaurants, bars, night clubs and shops, which then attracted the college crowd and later tourists.

The artists also revitalized the very trendy Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach. In the 80’s it was a deserted old street mall who’s main tenant was a souvenir shop that sold things like; sea shells, key chains & bubble gum. After a lesbian couple opened the very first restaurant there (Van Dyke Café, which also houses a live music lounge) local artists started to rent out these empty store fronts for their art galleries. Even the newly formed Miami City Ballet planted roots there. Eventually these art galleries & associated events attracted foot track to the area, which in turn attracted more restaurants, shops, a movie theater, etc. and yes a Gap store. ;)

Your inspiration reminded me of the movie about Harvey Milk. And from there, the jump was short: I think that an active sub-community, who have a hard time getting what they want (then the gays, maybe now the jobless), can really make a difference. So I think to speed up the process, it's necessary to find the activists and engage them in the action.
Great inspiration.