Urban Regeneration: From the Arts 'Feel Good' Factor to the Cultural Economy: A Case Study of Hoxton, London

This paper seeks to examine critically the role of culture in the continued development, or regeneration, of'post-industrial' cities. First, it is critical of instrumental conceptions of culture with regard to urban regeneration. Secondly, it is critical of the adequacy of the conceptual f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2009-05, Vol.46 (5/6), p.1041-1061
Main Author: Pratt, Andy C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art Works
Case studies
Causality
Cities
Consumption
Creative industries
Cultural Change
Cultural industries
Cultural policy
Cultural production
Culture
Economic development
Gentrification
London England
Modernity
New media art
Urban economics
Urban Renewal
Urban studies
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Summary:This paper seeks to examine critically the role of culture in the continued development, or regeneration, of'post-industrial' cities. First, it is critical of instrumental conceptions of culture with regard to urban regeneration. Secondly, it is critical of the adequacy of the conceptual framework of the 'post-industrial city' (and the 'service sector') as a basis for the understanding and explanation of the rise of cultural industries in cities. The paper is based upon a case study of the transformation of a classic, and in policy debates a seminal, 'cultural quarter': Hoxton Square, North London. Hoxton, and many areas like it, are commonly presented as derelict parts of cities which many claim have, through a magical injection of culture, been transformed into dynamic destinations. The paper suggests a more complex and multifaceted causality based upon a robust concept of the cultural industries as industry rather than as consumption.
ISSN:0042-0980
1360-063X
DOI:10.1177/0042098009103854