Culture and heritage as a means to foster quality of life? The case of Wrocław European Capital of Culture 2016

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wrocław European Capital of Culture 2016, with its ‘Spaces for Beauty’ slogan, serves to show that cumulating financial resources and human effort to produce a large number of projects and initiatives in the field of heritage provides an opportunity to improve the quality of life for residents. This paper discusses two aspects of quality of life: access to and participation in culture as well as relations with urban space and built heritage. Both impact numerous areas of our lives, such as individual satisfaction, self-development, identity building, sense of belonging, sense of security, aesthetic pleasure, entertainment, learning, socialization of individuals and building social capital. This paper aims to bridge the gap between research on mega-events and the discussion on heritage, offering insights into the potential use of heritage as a development mechanism.