1st Edition

Cultural Capitals Revaluing The Arts, Remaking Urban Spaces

By Louise Johnson Copyright 2009
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    This is a book about the power of the arts to enhance city images, urban economies and communities. Anchored in academic discussion of the Cultural Industries - what they are, how they have emerged, why they matter and how they should be theorized - the book offers a series of case studies drawn from five countries: Australia, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US to examine how the arts contribute to sustainable urban regeneration.

    1: Creating Value, Valuing Creativity; 2: Conceptualising the Cultural Industries/Cultural Capitals; 3: The Emergence of Cultural Capitals; 4: Glasgow: Cultural Tourism and Design; 5: Bilbao: The Guggenheim and Post-modern City of Spectacle; 6: Singapore: Post-colonial City of Cultural Heritage and Performance; 7: Geelong as a Cultural Capital? Down Under Echoes; 8: Cultural Capitals: Re-valuing the Arts and Re-making Sustainable City Spaces

    Biography

    Dr Johnson is Associate Professor in the School of History, Heritage and Society, Deakin University, Australia

    'This text with extensive references throughout has proved a thought-provoking and challenging read.' Building Engineer 'While the mantra of cultural capitals has dominated recent debates about urban vitality, this is the first warts-and-all analysis of the experience of first and second order cultural capitals through longitudinal comparative studies. This is a timely and inspiring contribution to the debate about the potential of the arts to enhance urban images, economies and communities.' Jennifer Craik, University of Canberra, Australia '... the overall quality of the book is high. Especially the case studies on Glasgow, Bilbao, Singapore and Geelong provide a lot of inspiration for researchers and practitioners who are interested in creative cities. As such, Johnson's book is a valuable contribution to the growing literature in this field and certainly deserves a wide read.' European Spatial Research and Policy