Abstract
Civic pride relates to how places promote and defend local identity and autonomy. It is often championed as a key value and aspiration of local government. This paper argues that civic pride has been under‐examined in geography, and in particular the emotional meanings of pride need to be better understood. In response, I present an emotional analysis of civic pride and discuss its role in British cities, particularly in the context of urban regeneration and the UK's new localism agenda. In the latter part of the paper I provide a case study of Nottingham in England, where I employ a discourse analysis of recent urban policy and local media to examine how civic pride is being mobilised and contested in the city. Examining civic pride is important because it shapes and reflects the political values that local governments stand for and provides a basis for thinking about how emotions are used strategically (and problematically) in urban policy. This paper complements and challenges existing literature on cities by showing how civic pride shapes, but also obscures, the ideological politics of local government and how, as geographers, we might consider more seriously the ways forms of power, identity and inequality are reproduced and contested through emotions such as pride.
Highlights
Civic pride is an integral feature of cities, but its meaning and importance can sometimes be overlooked
Geographers have tended to be critical about the virtues of urban regeneration and its ability to address social inequalities (Boland 2010; Ward 2003), while the recent localism agenda, which has culminated in the passing of the 2011 Localism Act by UK parliament, has generated both enthusiasm and scepticism over its potential to empower local government and increase civic pride
I examine the role of civic pride in relation to urban regeneration and the new localism agenda orchestrated under the Coalition government in the UK
Summary
Civic pride is an integral feature of cities, but its meaning and importance can sometimes be overlooked. I examine the role of civic pride in relation to urban regeneration and the new localism agenda orchestrated under the Coalition government in the UK.
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