The social life of measurement: how methods have shaped the idea of culture in urban regeneration

Abstract

Although 'culture-led regeneration' has been critiqued as both a concept and practice, it is clear that policy-makers continue to make efforts to use cultural activity of varying forms to achieve ends which could be (and are) described in terms of urban 'regeneration'. Whilst the idea of culture-led urban regeneration had gained considerable prominence in a range of policy by the early twenty-first century, many questions have remained over how exactly such 'regenerative' outcomes could be convincingly demonstrated, despite much activity to attempt such demonstration over the course of preceding years. The desire for convincing evidence can be seen in a continued, and increasing, focus on evaluation, and methods aimed at providing evidence of impact and outcomes. In light of the renewed political focus in recent years on 'proving' the effects and value of cultural activity, this paper considers the continuation of practice in this area, and asks what lessons, if any, have been learned in evaluative practice which seeks to demonstrate the regenerative effects of culture. In light of the continuation of apparently problematic practices, the paper seeks to delineate and account for what has been learned, and what has not.

And … action? Gender, knowledge and inequalities in the UK screen industries

“…Law et al's agenda of questioning knowledge in its multifaceted ecology has been taken up across the social sciences, for instance, in debates on digital methodology and the role of Big Data in social research (e.g., Halford & Savage, ; Ruppert, ; Ruppert et al, ); in cultural policy studies, particularly research into the production of regimes of cultural value in public policy (e.g., Campbell, Cox, & O’Brien, ; Gilmore, ; Miles & Gibson, ; D. O’Brien, ), and in critical international relations research (e.g., Aradau & Huysmuns, ). The unifying concern across these disciplines is with the ‘performative practices’ of producing and circulating knowledge ‘through which “truthful” worlds are enacted, both in the sense of being acted upon and coming into being’ (Aradau & Huysmuns, , p. 598).…”

“…Affecting social change requires thinking and knowing differently, they conclude, which in turn requires not just a mere change of narratives, but intervention in, and reconfiguration of, complex ecologies. Law et al's agenda of questioning knowledge in its multifaceted ecology has been taken up across the social sciences, for instance, in debates on digital methodology and the role of Big Data in social research (e.g., Halford & Savage, 2017;Ruppert, 2013;Ruppert et al, 2015); in cultural policy studies, particularly research into the production of regimes of cultural value in public policy (e.g., Campbell, Cox, & O'Brien, 2016;Gilmore, 2014;Miles & Gibson, 2016;D. O'Brien, 2014), and in critical international relations research (e.g., Aradau & Huysmuns, 2014).…”

Cultural Engagement and the Economic Performance of the Cultural and Creative Industries: An Occupational Critique

“…Rethinking CCIs must be careful to avoid the problems outlined with current understandings, particularly as sociological thinking has well observed the problems with the celebratory narratives of CCIs so popular with artistic and cultural policy voices (e.g. Campbell et al, 2017;Conor et al, 2015;Miles, 2005).…”

Regeneração urbana através da cultura e das artes : o caso do Barreiro

“…Introdução Sem deixar de ser polémico e controverso (Campbell et al, 2017;Vickery, 2007), o importante papel que a cultura e as artes podem desempenhar na transformação territorial é hoje consensual. Ao longo das últimas décadas, um conjunto vasto de experiências e projectos, intervenções e iniciativas tem sido implementado, promovido pelos mais diferentes actores, demonstrando que a cultura e as artes podem ser instrumentos importantes para a melhoria da qualidade de vida e a promoção do bem-estar das populações, para o desenvolvimento social e económico das comunidades locais, bem como para a regeneração e revitalização de áreas urbanas deprimidas ou decadentes (Evans & Shaw, 2006;Gunay & Dokmeci, 2012;McKenzie & Hutton, 2015).…”