Find here access to posts about the main cities I have researched since 1998.
I start with summaries on Glasgow, Liverpool and London.
You will soon have access to summaries on Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Barcelona amongst many others.
Glasgow
My work on Glasgow focuses on its experience as a pioneer of city marketing in the 1980s and host of the 1990 European City of Culture award.
I have assessed the 10 year legacy of becoming the first UK-based ECoC – and introducing the notion of culture-led regeneration to this European programme. I have also documented the city’s capacity to ‘manage the myth’, and transform its reputation from failed and no-go post-industrial city into a leading creative hub.
Key projects & papers
- Cities and Culture Project
- Rebranding the City: From Glasgow’s Miles Better to ‘Scotland with Style’
Liverpool
My work on Liverpool focuses on its experience as European Capital of Culture in 2008 and its role in redefining the cultural narrative of post-industrial cities in the UK.
I have examined the diverse cultural impacts of the title, including its contribution to long-term urban regeneration, shifts in local and national cultural policy, and the strengthening of civic pride and identity. I have also explored how Liverpool used the ECoC platform to reposition itself on the international cultural map, balancing large-scale event delivery with grassroots engagement, and managing the tensions between image-making and community representation.
- Impacts 08 | European Capital of Culture Research Programme
London
I started my research in London in 2002, as advisor to preparations for its eventually successful 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games candidature.
I was appointed to direct the first nation-wide evaluation of a Cultural Olympiad – and the first commissioned assessment of the impact of hosting an Olympic cultural programme. This work was followed by a scoping study into the strategic requirements for a new creative district in London, what has eventually become the East Bank, a direct urban, cultural and educational legacy of the Olympic Games.
- Official evaluation of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad
- London Culture and Education District: a feasibility study