Culture-led Urban Regeneration Research Articles

They Like to Do It in Public: A Quantitative Analysis of Culture-Led Regeneration Projects in ITALY

This paper presents and discusses a quantitative analysis of culture-led urban regeneration initiatives in Italy. It draws on a database of projects built using the filter of the national funding schemes launched between 2012 and 2018. The main objective of the research is to build an overview of the phenomenon of culture-based urban regeneration in Italy, recognizing common trends and recurring dynamics. The projects in the database are analyzed quantitatively on the basis of 28 attributes, taking into consideration different aspects such as the projects’ localization, the typology, dimension and ownership of the spatial assets mobilized, the relationship with public policies, and the scale of actors and networks involved in the projects. The findings show that culture-led regeneration initiatives “like to do it in public”; namely, to achieve their objectives—to “do culture”—they seek to connect with the public sector to receive forms of economic, material, and organizational support, such as public spaces in which to host their activities. Therefore, the interaction with the public administration is interpreted as the sine qua non condition for the success of culture-led urban regeneration initiatives and to ensure that these are able to generate strong and durable impacts on the revitalization and regeneration of distressed urban neighborhoods.

Efficiency assessment of public sector management and culture-led urban regeneration using the enhanced Russell-based directional distance function with stochastic data

Generic data envelopment analysis (DEA) models are based on deterministic input and output. However, input and output vectors are often interrupted by random factors, such as measurement errors and data noise, in real economic situations. This study proposes a new chance-constrained network DEA model based on the modified directional distance function (DDF) and enhanced Russell measure (ERM) model for assessing government management and culture-led urban regeneration. In addition to exploring the randomness of data, this study integrates the advantages of both ERM and DDF and considers the inefficiency level from a non-oriented viewpoint, the direction vector, and each input and output simultaneously. Each input and output of the two production stages can use non-radials to measure efficiency. Results show that the urban-rural gap has gradually widened since 2015. To validate the legitimacy of the model, this study utilizes the bootstrapping method to verify the results of the stochastic network DEA model and the conventional two-stage network DEA approach. This study also considers different alpha values as basis for comparison to confirm whether the results obtained differ by uncertainty level.

Micro-Museum Quarter as an Approach in the Culture-Led Urban Regeneration of Small Shrinking Historic Cities: The Case of Sombor, Serbia

Demographic and economic shrinkage has become a common trend in the current urbanisation environment, especially for small cities in developed countries. The desired socio-economic redevelopment of these cities has been significantly affected by the functional, organisational, financial, and professional constraints caused by both shrinkage and city size. Paradoxically, this slow development has enabled better preservation of their historic cores, urban heritage, and traditional culture. Nevertheless, the aforementioned local constraints have a profound impact on sustainable urban regeneration, and successful examples are still quite rare. This research presents an inspiring case—a small museum quarter in Sombor, Serbia. Museum quarters are a relatively new concept in culture-led urban regeneration; all known examples are located in big cities. Hence, this research tries to create an innovative methodological link between two theoretical fundaments: the role of cultural heritage in shrinking small cities and its expression through a museum quarter as one of the concepts of culture-led urban regeneration. An analytical framework for the aforementioned single case study is derived by forming this link. The main findings underline that the museum quarters in shrinking small cities should be developed in a micro-format to rationally address and the limited local resources. Furthermore, in contrast to museum quarters in big cities, they should be physically detached from the main retail street to enhance their separate identity and should be internally balanced in both spatial and functional aspects, meaning that the key museum/cultural institutions are equally dispersed throughout the quarter and clearly interconnected by a pedestrian-friendly open public space.

Shrinking Cities as European Capitals of Culture: Has this Status enabled their Reurbanisation?

More than 50 cities across Europe have been designed as the European capitals of culture for one year since the launch of this programme in 1985. Through organisation of different cultural events, this programme gives selected cities accessibility to generate significant cultural and socio-economic advantages, addressing their long-term regeneration and revitalisation and better competitiveness thereof. Several selected cities had gained this status during long-term urban shrinkage, the process where a population loss is caused by local socio-economic difficulties. Therefore, the supreme goal of such cities is certainly the reurbanisation based on better economic performance. The goal of the programme of European capital of culture –culture-led regeneration and revitalisation – perfectly fits with solutions for the economic problems of shrinking cities. The aim of this paper is to analyse has the status of European capital of culture has had an impact on population trends in the selected shrinking cities. Before the analysis, theoretical link between the concept of shrinking cities and urban regeneration and revitalisation is made. The selected cases are the shrinking cities with this status from 1985-2017, to preserve a 5-year threshold, adequate for the most recent demographic trends. The obtained results from the analysis show that the majority of the selected cities have entered reurbanisation after their year of the European capital of culture. Nevertheless, some of them have continued to shrink. The obtained results of the reurbanisation or prolonged shrinkage of the cities are further combined with the other characteristics of the selected cities, to fully understand their context. Comparing this, the paper conclusions target to indicate if and how the status of European capital of culture impacts on the local economy of a selected city though culture-led urban regeneration and revitalisation.

Cultural heritage tourism as a catalyst for sustainable development; the case of old Oyo town in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Over the last century, cultural heritage in Nigeria has experienced advanced neglect and continual degradation. This debacle created a trend whereby heritage resources have been wholly or partially replaced by new structures. The few heritage remnants in the locale will disappear if schemes to ameliorate, conserve and adaptive reuse are lacking. This research seeks a paradigm shift that balances the debacle and creates a sustainable physical development and cultural identity. This study is an empirical analysis of Old Oyo town in Nigeria and how it might be transformed into a living heritage rather than a deteriorating locale. This paper utilises the case study approach by presenting examples of the regeneration of the historic city in Fez, Morocco and the Kano ancient area in Nigeria. The findings show culture-led urban regeneration as a viable strategy for place making and sustainable development. It has the potential to drive the needed heritage development in Old Oyo while contributing to its environmental, economic and social sustainability. In addition, the project’s archeo-tourism potential is essential for socio-cultural sustainability and the revival of indigenous urban solutions and practices. Recommendations for the Old Oyo are crucial to developing the other heritage sites in Nigeria.

Reviewing the role of cultural and creative industries in developing an urban cultural policy platform in Rasht city, Iran

Purpose In spite of controversies in academia, various nations around the world have been propounding the importance of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as the driving force in economic growth and development strategies. Accordingly, this research aims to understand how these industries could contribute to forming a cultural and creative policy scheme in an urban context that is structured based on local cultural assets. Design/methodology/approach The case analysis of Rasht city, a UNESCO Creative City, assesses the planning policies from the national to the regional level to determine the cultural policy planning platform of Creative Rasht in four phases of urban cultural resources, municipal objectives, festival urban branding and the role of stakeholders, which are fashioned by the integrated cultural identity and sustainable city. This is followed by semi-structured interviews with experts and young researchers in the field of culture-led urban regeneration to evaluate different phases of the policy planning process. Findings By means of the qualitative method and ethnographic research, this paper argues that managerial regulations for local cultural industries contribute not only to the reinforcement of cultural resources but also to urban cultural sustainable development. Originality/value Building on empirical research, this paper attempts to argue the significant role of local CCIs alongside social values in creating a creative city platform, given the necessity for an urban cultural platform in Iran. It also emphasises the importance of local communities’ participation in the decision-making process and awareness-raising among different groups of stakeholders.

Networks of culture creatives in Patras: the relevance of cultural lag

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the challenges posed by the early discourse of the creative city in the case of Patras, a regional city of Greece and European Capital of Culture in 2006 before the prolonged economic crisis in Greece. We focus on the relevance and the forms of cultural creation and artistic networking for the creative city rather than on innovation hubs and technological creativity. We develop a qualitative study of culture creatives in the city to examine the potential of local cultural and artistic agents, social groups and institutions to enhance networking and clustering in the urban milieu, which is also influenced or distorted by city planning capacities and politics. The culture management study identifies several constraints and frictions related to the potential transformation of cultural networks to clusters and analyzes the relevance of cultural lag in the literature of creative cities and urban regeneration. The constraints are discussed within a framework of cultural and institutional lag, which characterize city stakeholders. The study identifies practices that enable organizational facilitation and capacity for proactive culture creation, creative networking and potential clustering. Those activities support culture-led socio-economic urban regeneration planning and inspire the potential making of a creative city.

Culture-led urban regeneration and local expectations of urban void renewal in eastern Lisbon

This article will analyze the ongoing culture-led regeneration processes of abandoned, informal and vacant areas, often considered by residents, local associations, and public officials to be urban voids. Our territorial framework is in Marvila, a semi-peripheral riverside area in Lisbon, strongly affected by informal activities, high levels of youth unemployment, an elderly population, and the existence of urban spaces with non-planned uses, seen as undesirable by the local ecosystem of stakeholders and particularly by residents. Our analysis will be centered around a social and spatial understanding of Lisbon’s municipal urban policy (funded by the 3.5.6. program of the European Union on Cultural Heritage), which has supported the reoccupation of some these so-called urban voids. We will focus on the use of a Pilot Project methodology, its exploratory and prototype nature, the local bureaucratic planning system, and the soft Planning techniques implemented as new ways of addressing long-term decayed and informal urban spaces. We will examine the regeneration results of two EU-H2020 funded pilot projects, under the ROCK project, which supports this research. The first pilot project “Loja Com Vida” (“store with life” or “store invites”), supports the municipal objective of creating a new urban centrality in Marvila, encouraging a diversification of its users, operationalizing the reuse of municipal ground floor spaces. The second project, “Jardim para Todos” (‘Garden for all’), corroborates a municipal urban policy on environmental sustainability goals, promoting, with the help of local agents, a learning and sharing process centered around green knowledge and the creation of a future agriculture hub and leisure area. The acknowledgment of these pilot project results will constitute an interesting case study for other urban areas with similar conditions, incorporating a better understanding of participative urban regeneration processes, outside the traditional and formal planning perspectives and achievements.

Timescapes beyond the Metropolises

The past decades have witnessed a rise of culture-led urban regeneration. The successful cultural models have travelled throughout the world, and applied to cities and urban areas regardless of their size and location. Culture, ranging between high culture and contemporary creative economies, acquires potential to contribute to physical, social and economic aspects of urban regeneration. Successful examples of culture-led urban regeneration have tempted small cities to invest in traveling global cultural policies. Academic community has criticized these travelling policies for over-simplifying the abstract notion of culture, overrating the benefits of culture-led urban regeneration and ignoring local temporal specifics. This paper argues that a temporal analysis framework would enable a holistic approach to culture-led urban regeneration, and embrace the temporal uniqueness of urban contexts. This article discusses the temporal characteristics of culture-led regeneration in a provincial city context within an empirical case study analysis of Myllytulli in Oulu, Northern Finland. Myllytulli represents a district of regional cultural relevance where cultural amenities range from museums and educational facilities to creative bottom-up initiatives. This study reframes Myllytulli’s urban regeneration process using temporal conceptions of recent interdisciplinary academic discourse. The empirical data set consists of expert interviews, observation material and municipal planning documents. The results analyse the urban regeneration process within the linear temporal ideals of rational-comprehensive planning, reactive experiential urbanism and relational dimensions of time. The paper suggests time-sensitive approaches for future research and practice of urban regeneration.

Conducting Heritage Tourism-Led Urban Renewal in Historic Urban Spaces: A Case Study of Datong, China

To boost the local fiscal revenue through capital investment promotion, urban renewal/regeneration led by heritage tourism has become a critical way of creating the city brand, designing tourism destinations, and attracting property developers and investors to cities. However, current practices lack proper understanding and consideration in preserving and interpreting the authentic identity in urban China in recent times. This has led to simply copying and pasting historical forms and urban spaces, thus resulting in an identity crisis due to the reproducibility of tangible heritage – physical form, architectural style, superficial living style, etc. Against this backdrop, this research explores the involvement of both tangible and intangible heritage rooted in historical Chinese cities which are undergoing heritage tourism-led urban regeneration. It also attempts to understand the influences of authentic intangible heritage – social activities, cultural events, collective memories and others – in designing and shaping urban spaces to preserve and reconstruct the place identity. To achieve these aims, a conceptual framework based on the relevant concepts relating to historical heritage and culture-led urban regeneration was developed to lead the research. Moreover, this research will examine and assess concepts and themes developed from the conceptual framework by employing qualitative research methods (including semi-structured interviews, on-site observation and photography, and analysis of relevant planning and designing schemes) in the case study of heritage tourism-led urban renewal in the old town of city Datong, China. A new conceptual framework was then developed in this research, contributing to the field of urban regeneration and place identity in both theoretical and practical aspects. The developing process of the conceptual framework and its findings help to provide a theoretical way of exploring the manifestation of local history and cultural resources in preserving and reconstructing the place identity of the Chinese historical urban context undergoing heritage tourism-led urban regeneration.

Exploring implicit and explicit cultural policy dimensions through major-event and neoliberal rhetoric

This paper is conceptually positions the emergence of the neoliberal city in the context of transitions to late-capitalism. The aim of this study is to understand intersections between explicit and implicit cultural policy dimensions focusing on the Rijeka2020 programme as intended and how it was restructured as a response to COVID-19. Through cultural policy analysis, this ex-ante qualitative case study of the Rijeka2020 programme illuminates overlapping explicit and implicit policy priorities of the ECoC—offering a unique insight into what could potentially be the future of the European cultural policy. Rijeka2020 can be seen as a changing point amidst different rhetoric, analysed around three themes (regeneration, legacy, and participation). Results examine how Rijeka's culture-led urban regeneration agenda was shy on creative industry oriented programming, yet reinforced through capital cultural infrastructural projects. Through attempts to avoid event-led spectacle, officials planned to engage more at the neighbourhood-scale using participatory art practices that concentrated on capacity building. Important take-away points address shifts from culture-oriented regeneration to local participatory art practices is a step towards reconstructing the cultural sector upstream (based on production) and downstream (through reception). • Rijeka2020 rhetoric offers unique insight into what could potentially be future European major-event cultural policy. • Rijeka2020 culture-led urban regeneration was shy on the creative industry, yet reinforced through cultural infrastructural. • Neighbourhood-scale participatory art was impactful, upskilling the workforce and developing audiences. • Through COVID-19, Rijeka focused on the reconstruction of cultural sector activities and active citizen participation.

Residents’ Perception of a Collaborative Approach with Artists in Culture-Led Urban Regeneration: A Case Study of the Changdong Art Village in Changwon City in Korea

This study asserts that the higher the degree of artists’ and residents’ participation in a culture-led renewal project, the higher the level of residents’ satisfaction. Engaging artist groups and introducing cultural programs can facilitate building a collaborative network between artists and residents. This paper adopts an experimental study method and defines the experimental and control groups as follows: the experimental group (Changwon city) has relatively high artist participation, and the control group (Sacheon, Gimhae, Miryang cities) have relatively low artist involvement. Multiple regression analysis was conducted utilizing 192 valid survey data in R studio software. The significant variables were compared between the experimental group (Model 1) and the control group (Model 2). As a result, the relative effects of “1. experience (or amount) of residents’ participation in urban renewal programs”, “2. reflection of residents’ opinions”, and “3. neighborly trust” on “residents’ satisfaction with urban regeneration projects and expected outcomes” was shown to be greater in the experimental group. The result implies that the involvement of cultural entities and the operation of arts programs increase residents’ will to participate in renewal projects and to build neighborly trust. Further, collection and reflection of residents’ opinions about the renewal works were more smoothly completed when mediated by artist participation and using cultural content.

Culture-Led Urban Regeneration: How Does Melukis Harapan Catalyst The Transformation of Dolly Prostitution District?

The position of cultural regeneration to develop social and economic growth in a post-black economy district like a former sex leisure business is becoming a thought-provoking investigation. This research focuses on a specific observation to find the relationship between regeneration and former prostitution in culture-led urban reinforcement to develop through the creative industry? What are the influences behind the rise of culture-led borough redevelopment in such a place of ex-prostitution? This research used the post-positivism paradigm with qualitative method approach. Some of the opinions behind the growth of culture-led urban regeneration have linked not only in cultural icon and urban identity but also in community consolidation to support the creative industry elaboration. Further, the products of culture-led urban renewal, we can say youth movements, has the assumption to potentially advance the local cultural policy discourses within creative industry outcome. This research presents the effect of accepted place in Dolly, the ex-biggest well-organized prostitution in southeast Asia located in Surabaya, Indonesia. It implication is to show the result of observations and experiences conducted with the local youth community, Melukis Harapan, as a cultural flagship development subject that successfully transform Dolly into an education-tourism-based creative village.

Tackling urban disparities through participatory culture-led urban regeneration. Insights from Lisbon

In the last few decades, the diffusion of culture-led urban regeneration schemes has intercepted the growth of participatory approaches across a wide range of policy domains. Partnerships between private and public agencies have sought, accordingly, the engagement of citizens and stakeholders to push forward context-specific interventions. From the participatory action research developed in Lisbon, one of the cities funded under the EU-funded project ROCK, we analyse the ways in which this project has tackled spatial divides and socioeconomic inequalities in the project demonstration area. Our main argument is that operational decisions and substantive mismatches have given rise to opportunities and bottlenecks throughout the implementation of the project. While the public investment has been directed to regenerate a deprived area, it has fallen short of promoting greater connections within the area and with the surrounding neighbourhoods. ROCK’s actions have only partially met local community expectations regarding the project’s objectives for the optimisation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with impacts over degrees of citizen engagement in the local Living Lab.

The Effect of Culture-Led Urban Regeneration Brand Experience on Integrity and Re-Visit Intention- Focus on the Ancient City of China

The Effect of Culture-Led Urban Regeneration Brand Experience on Integrity and Re-Visit Intention- Focus on the Ancient City of China

A Creative Living Lab for the Adaptive Reuse of the Morticelli Church: The SSMOLL Project

The international debate on the adaptive reuse of cultural heritage sites consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals has become increasingly important in the implementation of circular economy models for urban policies. The new values that characterize cultural assets, considered the result of a collaborative process, can enhance both manufactured and human capital, and provide the basis for a system of relationships that binds them. Furthermore, the values of historical artistic assets produced by community-based regeneration processes are particularly relevant when they characterize abandoned commons and cult buildings, to which communities attribute an identity and symbolic value. Starting from the definition of the concept of complex social value, we propose a methodological process that combines approaches and techniques typical of deliberative evaluations and collaborative decision-making processes. The aim is to identify the complex value chains generated by adaptive reuse, in which intrinsic values can play a driving role in the regeneration strategies of discarded cultural heritage. The experimentation, tested with the project “San Sebastiano del Monte dei Morti Living Lab” (SSMOLL), activates a creative and cultural Living Lab in the former Morticelli church, in the historic center of Salerno, in southern Italy. The reuse project is part of a more comprehensive process of social innovation and culture-led urban regeneration triggered in Salerno starting from SSMOLL. The partial results of the process show how a co-exploration phase has characterized the cultural characteristic of the living lab and how the co-evaluation of the individual activities orient the possible reuse scenarios. Finally, the results provide a first analysis of the relationship types activated.

The consequences of being ‘the Capital of Cool’. Creative entrepreneurs and the sustainable development of creative tourism in the urban context of Rotterdam

This article analyses how creative entrepreneurs perceive the development of tourism; it looks at creative placemaking in tourism and reflects on the role of creative entrepreneurs in the sustainable development of tourism. To do so, we conducted semi-structured interviews with creative entrepreneurs in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We choose a city in an early stage of tourism development but in a more advanced stage of culture-led urban regeneration. Although Rotterdam has a long history of strategies to change its image into a creative one, only recently has the city experienced an increase in media attention and a growing number of domestic and international tourists. This offers a unique opportunity to explore tourism development at an early stage. Our results nuance our understanding of the relations between creative entrepreneurs, placemaking, and tourism. Although the creative entrepreneurs in our sample consider themselves placemakers, issues such as equality, inclusiveness, and avoiding gentrification are still not adequately addressed. From a policy perspective, this study emphasises the need to take into account the fundamental question of whose city Rotterdam is and who benefits from the urban and tourism development strategy.

Contested memory amidst rapid urban transition: The cultural politics of urban regeneration in Guangzhou, China

As an important socio-economic development strategy around the world, urban regeneration has been gradually shifting from a focus on large-scale and modernized physical transformations to addressing diversity, sustainability, equality and liveability in the city. With large-scale urban sprawl slowing down, culture-based urban regeneration is being increasingly undertaken by the local governments of China. Drawing on detailed fieldwork in the two selected culture-based urban regeneration projects in Guangzhou, a capital city in South China, this article aims to present the subtle cultural politics embedded in the processes of urban regeneration. The findings of this article include that 1) the two culture-based urban regeneration projects in Guangzhou are intertwined with complex power relations, discourses and cultural negotiations; 2) the projects might bring the opportunity for revitalization of local culture, but simultaneously create cultural tension among different social groups; 3) the roles performed by the actors involved are flexible, fluid and highly situated. By presenting the nuanced cultural politics within culture-based urban regeneration projects, this article forms part of the literature on the interrelationship between government, developer, and resident/individual in the context of culture-led urban regeneration.

Urban regeneration governance, community organizing, and artists’ commitment: A case study of Seongbuk-dong in Seoul

Abstract In 2013, the Seongbuk-dong district of Seoul was officially designated as a “Historic and Cultural District.” District designation transformed the area from a naturally occurring cultural district comprised of historical monuments, beautiful landscapes, and cultural institutions into a place where various projects have been implemented to enhance the district's attractiveness and cultural value. At the same time, efforts have been made to strengthen community participation, including the introduction of a “Community Planning Group” policy. This article addresses the multifaceted interplay of culture-led urban regeneration, heritage production, and community participation in Seongbuk-dong and highlights the complex features of community participation as well as the significance and possibilities of artists' commitment to urban regeneration governance.

Musealization as an Urban Process: The Transformation of the Sultanahmet District in Istanbul’s Historic Peninsula

As culture-led urban regeneration has become a widely adopted strategy for dilapidated historic cities, the museum as a concept has become a key aspect of this regeneration. With the tangible and intangible aspects of culture being presented in museums, many historic buildings are repurposed as museums, urban, or archaeological sites designated as open-air museums, and the boundaries between museums and historic cities have been dissolved. This article discusses how the museum concept expands from the boundaries of a single building into the historic city itself. Defining this expansion as musealization, this article evaluates its contribution as an urban process in the transformation of Sultanahmet in Istanbul’s historic peninsula, which has been the major subject of conservation studies from the nineteenth century until present day.