Joaquim Rius Ulldemolins

Culture and authenticity in urban regeneration processes: Place branding in central Barcelona

In the post-Fordist economy, culture has become an important resource for cities to compete at the regional and international levels. Thus, local elites have used culture as an instrument of urban regeneration and these processes increasingly seek to promote urban branding. Moreover, culture is seen as a way to generate narratives that help cities avoid the perception of standardisation, characterise cities as a unique urban space and create authenticity, which are necessary elements if a city is to be globally competitive. The case of central Barcelona and, specifically, the Raval district is exemplary and singular: the joint action of the cultural institutions and representatives of the cultural sector based in the neighbourhood have turned the Raval into an brand space of ‘authentic Barcelona’ that makes the official, tourist-frequented Barcelona more rich and complex.In the post-Fordist economy, culture has become an important resource for cities to compete at the regional and international levels. Thus, local elites have used culture as an instrument of urban regeneration and these processes increasingly seek to promote urban branding. Moreover, culture is seen as a way to generate narratives that help cities avoid the perception of standardisation, characterise cities as a unique urban space and create authenticity, which are necessary elements if a city is to be globally competitive. The case of central Barcelona and, specifically, the Raval district is exemplary and singular: the joint action of the cultural institutions and representatives of the cultural sector based in the neighbourhood have turned the Raval into an brand space of ‘authentic Barcelona’ that makes the official, tourist-frequented Barcelona more rich and complex.

Cultural clusters and social interaction dynamics: The case of Barcelona

Analysing the territorial dynamics of culture, particularly its tendency to form clusters, has become a study area that draws the attention of various social science disciplines. It has grown steadily in importance over the last 20 years alongside the increasing interest in creative industries and cultural institutions as factors in socio-economic development and urban regeneration. Most of today’s literature on the subject takes cultural clusters as a single type and focuses on aspects linked to their urban planning or economic impact. However, there is a growing awareness of the importance of the social dimension of cultural clusters. This paper aims to differentiate between various cultural clusters in the city of Barcelona by constructing models or types of cluster, taking into account the predominant interaction dynamics and the type of social ties generated between the cultural agents participating in these groupings. Following these criteria we distinguish three types of cultural cluster according to whether a bureaucratic, associative or community dynamic predominates. These social dynamics enable us to understand the success or failure of a cluster policy.

Spain’s nation branding project Marca España and its cultural policy: the economic and political instrumentalization of a homogeneous and simplified cultural image

Cultural diplomacy is being increasingly considered the medium in which nation states can instrumentalize their cultural production and accomplish soft power goals. Analysts have repeatedly underlined the importance of culture in place branding in globalized economies, where culture can singularize products and assign them greater value. Both foreign and cultural policy have made the international projection of cultural industries a strategic goal, and this has simultaneously transformed the goals and networks of these policies. Although the literature addresses this phenomenon, certain effects of brand policy-making have become evident and require further attention: the simplification of cultural diversity, the elimination of non-coherent characteristics within brands and the limitation of internal dissension and participation. In this paper, Spain’s nation branding project Marca España (Spain Brand) is critically analysed as a process of economic and political instrumentalization conducted by large companies who promote a simplified and homogeneous image of national culture.

Gallery Districts of Barcelona: The Strategic Play of Art Dealers

This article focuses on Barcelonas art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the citys districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyzes how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related, or social) but are the result of a combination of strategic choices—either individual or collective—which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.This article focuses on Barcelonas art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the citys districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyzes how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related, or social) but are the result of a combination of strategic choices—either individual or collective—which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.