The emergence of culture-led regeneration : a policy concept and its discontents

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the concept of ‘culture-led regeneration’ and the national policies and policy frameworks within which the term has gained meaning and credibility. The period of time covered is 1997—2007, concentrating particularly on the shift in policy priorities under New Labour in the UK between 1999-2004. The first section is a discussion of the semantics of the term cultureled regeneration, and the diverse contexts in which it has been used. The second section offers an account of the historical backdrop to the term’s emergence – the rise of urban regeneration policy in its manifold forms. Through a consideration of key urban, social, cultural and arts policies, the paper identifies the political motives and Government interests which have animated this history. The third section of the paper considers ‘design-led’ regeneration – a major variant of culture-led regeneration. The fourth section is concerned with the role of DCMS and ACE and their role in promoting culture within urban regeneration. The paper seeks to demonstrate that culture-led regeneration is not a single coherent term, but has multiple meanings and applications. More significantly, under New Labour the economic instrumentalism of the previous Conservative regime was supplanted by a social instrumentalism, where culture was only defined in a policy context in terms of a supplement to social or urban policy aspirations. Culture and creativity were means to generate an already existing process of social reconstruction, but this came at the cost of an impoverished concept of culture.

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