The cultural production of cities: Rhetoric or reality? Lessons from Glasgow

Abstract

Our cities are under great strain to gain competitive advantage in today's global climate, in which the function of place marketing has never been greater. One of the most prevalent dimensions is the notion of the cultural city, where cities essentially market themselves based on both their traditional and contemporary cultural heritage. A key mechanism is the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) award, a potential catalyst for economic, physical, social and cultural growth. But to what extent does the complex nature of culture translate real change within the urban environment? In light of Liverpool's recent award as ECOC 2008 and the scale of current retail and leisure development in the city, this paper draws on the experiences of Glasgow's ECOC 1990 award. Seventeen years on from Glasgow's success, an event that has stimulated much debate, the city has now won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The paper discusses what lessons today's UK cities, like Liverpool, can learn from the Glasgow model, and the impact such hallmark events can have in achieving sustainable urban growth. Concludes that through applying the thoughts of Short (1996) that with such events there will always be a dichotomy between the rhetoric and the reality, we must not underestimate the complexity of urban culture, but still embrace the long-term sustainable potential that events like the ECOC can bring to the urban environment.