John McCarthy

Regeneration of Cultural Quarters: Public Art for Place Image or Place Identity?

Cities are increasingly seeking to encourage culture-related uses in particular areas, often designated as ‘cultural quarters’, to achieve regeneration outcomes, and public art is often applied in such quarters in order to promote place image and to enhance local identity. However, it may be argued that these aims are potentially contradictory, since the image that is projected may not necessarily reflect local identity. This is a critical issue in view of the need to achieve regeneration outcomes that are inclusive, broadly based and context sensitive. Nevertheless, the cases of public art schemes in Manchesters Northern Quarter and Belfasts Cathedral Quarter suggest that it is feasible to integrate aims in relation to image and identity by means of public art, and that the use of historical associations can provide a valuable means of linking image and identity.

Business Improvement Districts, Planning and Urban Regeneration

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have been widely adopted in the USA as a means of bringing about enhanced service provision and broader regeneration impacts, and interest is now turning to the use of such mechanisms in the UK. However, the fundamental differences between the administrative and social contexts of the USA and the UK mean that BIDs would have to be significantly adapted for application in the UK. Moreover, research conducted by the authors, using case studies of BIDs in Los Angeles, indicates that they can be problematic in operation. Nevertheless, BIDs offer a means of delivering limited objectives in relation to city centre renewal.

Entertainment-led Regeneration: the Case of Detroit

Abstract Like many cities in the USA suffering from structural decline, in recent decades the city of Detroit has applied a ‘pro-growth’ agenda involving the encouragement of development within the core city. More specifically, entertainment and sports-related schemes have been the focus of this agenda in recent years. However, the use of such schemes to achieve broader regeneration aims presents problems as well as benefits. The case of Detroit shows that the value of such an approach is by no means certain, and it highlights the importance of the governance context in providing the motivation for, as well as the means of applying, such an approach.

Promoting Image and Identity in ‘Cultural Quarters’: the Case of Dundee

Many cities in recent decades have encouraged the arts and cultural sectors as a means of achieving regeneration outcomes. Such strategies have been followed particularly by cities with perceived problems in relation to image and identity, linked to the need to promote inward investment and tourism. One policy implication has been the designation of ‘cultural quarters’, as areas where a ‘critical mass’ of culture-related activity is seen as providing the basis for further related uses. Dundees Cultural Quarter follows this model, but evidence so far raises questions as to the extent to which relevant policy is embedded within local identity, history and culture. This implies that such quarters may promote homogeneity rather than distinctiveness, and may therefore prove to be counter-productive.

The Cruise Industry and Port City Regeneration: The Case of Valletta

Port cities in the Mediterranean and elsewhere are increasingly seeking to encourage tourism-related development, and the cruise industry is a significant potential source of revenue for such cities. Consequently, there is competition between port cities for infrastructure that allows increased cruise tourism, and many cities have encouraged the development of new cruise passenger terminal facilities. While such schemes have clear economic benefits, there are associated problems that may become evident only in the medium- or long-term. The case of the Valletta Waterfront Project illustrates a range of resulting issues and tensions, and indicates the need to more sensitively evaluate cruise tourism-related development proposals.

Reconstruction, regeneration and re-imaging: The case of Rotterdam

Abstract The city of Rotterdam would seem to have succeeded in adapting to new conditions of urban competition by means of the physical reconstruction of its central area and the re-imaging of its cultural identity on an international level, while also achieving social objectives for regeneration. Moreover, these achievements have been brought about largely in the absence of overt conflict. This has been largely the result of both specific conditions of governance in the city itself, and the wider policy context of the Netherlands.

Dublin's temple bar—a case study of culture‐led regeneration

Abstract The Temple Bar project in Dublin has been widely viewed as a model of culture‐led regeneration. However, the outcomes of the project show that many of its original aims, such as the maintenance and enhancement of a diverse range of uses to cater for both the needs of the local population and those of investors, have not been achieved. This would seem to be in part the result of the high priority given to image enhancement at the expense of social objectives.

National Parks in Scotland: Balancing Environment and Economy

The use of National Park designations to bring about aims including the protection and conservation of the natural environment has become established in most European Union member states. In the UK, such arrangements have long featured in England and Wales, but they have not been paralleled by similar designations in Scotland. Now, however, National Parks are being introduced in Scotland. While the proposed arrangements build on the experience of National Parks elsewhere in Europe, and particularly in England and Wales, they incorporate the distinctive feature of seeking to bring about socio-economic development as well as environmental protection.

Urban regeneration in Glasgow and Dundee: a comparative evaluation

Abstract The recent experiences of Glasgow and Dundee in terms of urban regeneration have been very different. One reason for the disparities in the perceived levels of success of regeneration initiatives in these cities has of course been the very different political, social and economic contexts of each. However, it would also seem that the different approaches to urban regeneration in each city have contributed to such disparities, with the closely-targeted approach of Glasgow proving in some ways less effective than Dundees attempts to enable a wider area of the city to share in the benefits of regeneration.

Cultural quarters and regeneration: The case of Wolverhampton

In recent decades, cities throughout the UK have increasingly looked to culturerelated uses to help bring about regeneration outcomes (Landry et al., 1996). The UK Government has also taken a pro-active stance on the encouragement of cultural industries (Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), 1999), and local authority cultural regeneration strategies have been encouraged (Scottish Executive, 2000). A range of policy approaches has been applied locally, including the widespread designation of ‘cultural quarters’, often within a broader set of ‘city quarters’. However, such approaches to regeneration may be contested, since they may result in negative effects such as erosion of distinctiveness, and there is confusion over the rationale for, and potential of, cultural quarters in particular. This article uses a case study of Wolverhampton’s Cultural Quarter to explore the questions of why and how such mechanisms are applied, and what is their potential in terms of delivery of regeneration outcomes. In so doing, the article problematises the notion of cultural quarters, which all too often forms part of an under-theorised orthodoxy of practice, transmitted by a process of serial replication. The article is structured as follows. First, conceptual frameworks relevant to city quartering, culture-led regeneration and ‘cultural quarters’ are considered; second, a case study of Wolverhampton’s Cultural Quarter is set out; third, an analysis of the critical issues and problems is provided; and finally, broad conclusions are suggested, of relevance to policy and practice elsewhere.