Cultural Planning: An Urban Renaissance?

Abstract

Cultural Planning: An Urban Renaissance? Graeme Evans, London, Routledge, 2001; 335pp., £65 (h/b), £19.99 (p/b) The primary focus of this ambitious text is to consider the roles and relationships of cultural production, regulation and consumption for processes of urban development and regeneration. With contemporary urban experience involving a radical shift in cultural production and consumption arising from attempts to reclaim and redefine the city, tensions have arisen between the needs of local citizens for access, participation and cultural expression, and the marketing of the 'competitive city' as part of the imagery associated with urban renaissance. The book examines the role of culture in rea rming urban identities, notions of cultural promotion and consumption associated with urban infrastructure and design, and the emergence of the flagship and cultural capital phenomena. Initially, it focuses on a historical perspective, looking at the pre-industrial city and the relationship between culture and commerce manifest through the establishment of places of public performance and cultural exchange. Discussion then moves on to cities of the Industrial Revolution, tracing the growth of theatres, music halls and pleasure gardens, and the development and proliferation of the public realm (museums, parks, libraries) as an expression of increasing state concern with the promotion and regulation of cultural production. This became increasingly internationalised through colonisation and trade, leading to the emergence of a global economic rationale for cultural production and consumption. As evolving forms and locations for collective cultural activity came to be influenced by state policies, this was accompanied by a parallel development of city and regional development programmes. Notions of amenity provided the focus for emergent town planning legislation, and arts and entertainment were at the heart of post-war reconstruction and the growth of the Welfare State. Indeed, as part of a wider cultural renaissance of cities and city regions there was a gradual emergence of planned and purposive strategies for the provision of local amenities, and attempts made to remove barriers between the passive consumption of culture and active participation. This culminated in the emergence of the local 'arts centre' as urban infrastructure, a breakdown in the dissonance between arts professionals and community- based activities, and an increasing integration of cultural factors in the urban planning process. This strengthened arguments for cultural mapping exercises as the basis for cultural planning, and the adoption of models and standards of provision to be developed. Notions of 'scale hierarchy' and 'pyramids of opportunity' are presented, alongside case studies of arts plans and cultural strategies, with the argument being made that the wider adoption of planning standards in this field would help ensure greater distribution and access to cultural experience and expression. More recently, as cities have developed signiRcant service economies, the emergence of 'cultural, creative and knowledge industriesf as politically loaded and economically important sectors within the urban economy has led to discussion of production chains, cultural sectors, and issues of clustering. This has propelled debate about the continuing importance of town centres and the competition o ered by the 'pleasure peripheryf. The shift from 'arts as amenityf to the 'cultural economyf has been justiRed as a pragmatic response to the decline in public cultural services and amenities, the increasing economic importance of popular culture, and the e ects of globalisation and commodiRcation of much cultural production and consumption. …

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