Category: City regeneration

European Capitals of Culture: European dimension in cultural cooperations

On the 15 November 2023 I am at the European Parliament moderating a debate with political representatives from the three 2024 European Capitals of Culture in Austria, Norway and Estonia. #Salzkammergut2024, #Bodø2024 and #Tartu2024 have all launched their programmes for their year and have achieved unprecedented levels of tripartite collaboration to date. From hosting jointly…

Impacts 18 Symposium Highlights

Find below highlights from our 10 year anniversary symposium, launching Impacts 08 ~ 18 | #Impacts18, the major research programme I have directed since 2006 on the impacts and long term legacy of hosting a European Capital of Culture. The Symposium opened a global conversation about the value of being a ‘‘#cityofculture’ after 30 years of…

Comment| Valletta 2018 opening weekend

‎ Valletta 2018 launches its year with Erba ‘ Pjajez, “Four squares” involving multiple repeating shows throughout the city, a good concept to ensure as many local citizens & visitors as possible experience the opening party of their European Capital of Culture It is Important for locals too that all events were in Maltese rather…

‘If everyone says so …’ Press narratives and image change in major event host cities

I have just published this academic paper within the Urban Studies Journal. You can access it here   Abstract This paper looks into the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme as a leading example of culture-led regeneration intervention aimed at renewing or diversifying the economic base and positioning of host cities. One of the key claims…

ARTICLE | Closer to Marseille than to London … Europe and the EU as trumpeteers for British talent

On the day the United Kingdom decides whether to remain in or leave the EU, I share my personal take on the value of this relationship. This is a personal reflection informed by 16 years researching urban change and documenting the journeys of cities trying to rebuild their economic base while protecting their social fabric and advancing their cultural outlook.…

International cultural cooperation: Europe & Latinoamerica

On the 17th and 18th of May 2016 I have contributed to the Regional Seminar for Latin America and the Caribbean that is organised yearly by the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Union. The seminar has brought together Heads of EU Delegations and key staff to discuss challenges and perspectives for EU development…

My research trajectory since 1999

I have interrogated cities and event-led cultural policy-making since 1999. I started by revisiting the cultural legacy of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games to inform my work on the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festivals. This was followed by research on the legacy of Glasgow 1990 as European Capital of Culture; the experience of Cultureshock – cultural programme for…

Cultura urbana para la Inclusión Social en Latinoamérica

The European Commission and Iberoamerican General Secretariat have invited me to contribute to ‘Urban Culture for Social Inclusion in Latinoamérica’, an international seminar hosted in Brussels, on the 21 April 2016. This will open the doors to important discussions and knowledge exchange between European city experiences and Latino American cities. * La Comisión Europea y la…

The journey towards Hull 2017

I have spent a day in Hull, discussing regeneration opportunities, the challenges of event-driven urban strategies and the many ways in which local people can define success after hosting the UK City of Culture title. We talked & rebated numbers, anecdotes, expectations met, surprises and disappointments in many other cities that have previously undergone a…

Cultural value, media events & city narratives

Presentation at AIMAC 2015 (Aix-en-Provence & Marseille)   My paper abstract, below: Ever since the widespread acceptance that the arts can have economic value, artistic interventions have been commonly interrogated through an economic and, often, purely instrumental lens. Economic or – at most – socioeconomic effect narratives and associated methodologies to capture such effects have…

Regeneration with attitude: Towards Hull 2017

The Royal Society of Arts has invited me to speak at their 2015 Engage Series: RSA Connect: Hull, 14 July 2015 This event aims to explore alternative approaches to regeneration through people, culture and enterprise. I will be a facilitator, together with Lia Ghilardi,  and will share examples of how we can harness the power of the…

Urban Cultural Projects: Practice, Research, Policy

I have been invited by the University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center to join an international research gathering at the university’s Paris campus. The event is a select convening of about 25 researchers, practitioners and policymakers around the theme of urban cultural placemaking. It has been organised as part of the Center’s efforts to develop a more international and…

The cultural value of event-led city regeneration

I am in Helsinki presenting the paper ‘The cultural value of event-led city regeneration. What makes a European Capital of Culture sustainable’ . My presentation is part of the international symposium Culture(s) in Sustainable Futures: Theories, Policies, Practices, organised by the University of Jyväskylä as part of a COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) research programme. Find my…

Book Chapter: Capitals of Culture and External Projection

  I have contributed to the ‘Llibre Blanc de la Cultura a Terrassa’ (White Book on Culture in Terrassa), published by the local authority (Ajuntament de Terrassa) in March 2015. My paper focuses on a discussion about what makes a ‘capital of culture’ and, more broadly, the range of ways in which cities can express and…

Collection of films on my views about Liverpool and cultural regeneration

I have finally had the chance to tidy up the links to a series of films produced under the series ‘Culturefighters’ by Kosice 2013 European Capital of Culture with support from the British Council. The films were produced back in 2011 and cover a range of topics in the format of ‘mini-masterclasses’ around the notion…

Research links: A ‘City of Culture’ initiative for Italy?

Claudio Bocci, Director of Institutional Relations at Federculture and Ravello LAB committee member, has built on the evidence provided by Impacts 08 on Liverpool 2008 and the Cities and Culture project on Glasgow 1990 to advance discussion about a potential City of Culture initiative in Italy. Find his paper in Italian (with English version at…

(2002- 2005) Cities and Culture Project: Understanding the Long-term Legacies of Glasgow 1990, European City of Culture

Lead Investigator: Research funded by the Centre for Cultural Policy Research (CCPR, University of Glasgow).  From January 2002 to December 2005, Dr Beatriz Garcia was the principal investigator of a research project on Cities and Culture, using Glasgow 1990 European City of Culture as a case study. The research was conducted at the Centre for Cultural…

(2004) Reinventando Glasgow como Ciudad Europea de la Cultura. Impactos en turismo cultural (1986-2000)

Garcia, B. in: Font, J. (Ed.) Casos de turismo cultural: de la planificación estratégica a la evaluación de productos. Barcelona: Editorial Ariel (pp. 31-56) [indice en español] Este caso explora el desarrollo de estrategias de turismo cultural en el entorno urbano de Glasgow (Escocia) tras la obtención del título de Ciudad Europea de la Cultura…