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This paper focuses on the development of Hong Kong's cultural economy and its translation into urban space. On the one hand it focuses on recent economic development and planning strategies to develop a post-colonial identity based on the international cachet of attracting creative industries. On the other hand, it considers the development of grassroots initiatives that herald the potential articulation of Hong Kong as a culturally dense global city. These grassroots initiatives are analyzed from the perspective of their problematic relationship with urban space, and how urban planning both supports and hinders cultural development. The paper argues that top-down planning is in large part catalytic, yet at the same time can run counter to the development of genuine artistic expression. It stresses the importance of ‘middleground’ actors in facilitating the development of spaces for artistic creation, particularly in their productive interlocking with different forms of artistic expression and public policy initiatives. The middleground can be conceived of as a relational space produced by various processes, actors and structures operating at different scales between institutional actors and the interests of ‘underground’ creativity. The article concludes by problematizing the role of middleground actors and underlines the value of ‘unpacking’ the middleground in order to account for the contested and negotiated processes it embodies. Renewed attention to these processes will contribute to enhancing the development of sites of artistic expression in Hong Kong and other emergent contemporary contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract How can we measure culture in urban areas? Can empirical metrics on culture function as an urban planning tool for cities' well-being? This paper fits into the research path examining the role of culture as a resource for development, with a specific focus on empirical measurement aspects. A novel dataset (The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor – CCCM) gathering 29 indicators for 168 cities in 30 European countries is presented. The CCCM measures the presence and attractiveness of cultural venues and facilities (Cultural Vibrancy), the capacity of culture to generate jobs and innovation (Creative Economy), and the conditions enabling cultural and creative processes to thrive (Enabling Environment). Results show that cultural and creative assets are diversely distributed across European cities, which offer local authorities the opportunity to design context-specific development strategies. In particular, many medium-sized cities appear to have, on average, more cultural capital assets per inhabitant than larger cities. On the basis of these findings, we draw conclusions on the conceptual and methodological relevance of the CCCM and advance proposals on how to further use the CCCM data to drive culture-led and evidence-based urban policy design. Highlights • The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCCM) is a novel culture-specific dataset covering 168 European cities. • It gathers 29 indicators which relate to the Cultural Vibrancy, Creative Economy and Enabling Environment of a city. • Capitals generally lead on 'Creative Economy' but non-capitals, mostly medium-sized, do better on 'Cultural Vibrancy'. • The CCCM dataset - freely accessible - can support policy-relevant questions and evidence-led urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Taking the dynamics of second tier city of Galway as a case study, this paper sets out to answer two simple and related questions: How important has culture been to the city’s economic and social development, and how integral is culture in maintaining the city’s economic and social sustainability? In order to provide answers, we look at the city’s development in relation to an emerging body of literature concerning creative cities. We focus on production of culture and gauge its assimilation into the economic life of the city by looking at various facets of the city’s economic structure, including the technology sector. The aim of this paper is to look at cultural policy in Ireland under three interrelated domains: Technology; Institutions; and Spatial Culture (encompassing the place of public performance in urban morphology). The case study of a second tier city provides interesting insights for policy and practice as well as cultural/creative activity arising out of place specific circumstances. The paper explores the changing role of culture and concludes by drawing attention to the tensions surrounding the perceptions of ownership of culture and questions to what impact this will have regarding the city’s sustainability into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to some ambiguities in defining the domain of public space in traditional Islamic cities and gaps in the knowledge related to the Kurdish cities, this paper examines the conception of the public domain in the Kurdish context. Drawing on points of similarities and differences with Iranian and Islamic contexts, we delineate the intricacies of how Kurds conceptualised the public domain, and specifically how females have experienced that domain, with regard to the common view of “unsafeness”. We also describe the role of women and their relationship to space outside of kinship ties. The paper concludes that the Kurdish context to some extent is different from other Islamic and Iranian contexts, due to the status of Kurdish women and the socio-political and environmental circumstances which marked that society. Therefore these conditions led to a kind of soft boundary between the two realms of public and private life and, thus, allowed the possibility of women’s negotiation with public domain more than in other Islamic cultures. In Women’s social realm today, it became clear that the traditional way of public gathering was gradually being kept on the periphery of the city to such an extent it only remained appropriate among the poor and uneducated families, those who settled either in the city’s traditional part or on the fringe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a time span of 10 years, many English town centres have been transformed from being relatively deserted at night to being filled with concentrations of young drunken people out on the streets until the early hours of the morning. This paper considers this transformation: its origins, process, impacts, policy responses and the lessons that may be derived from it. The first section discusses the concept of the creative milieu and its relation to consumption. The second provides the context for the unprecedented expansion of night-time alcohol related entertainment in English town and city centres over the last decade. The third part of the paper discusses the impacts of the increase in licensed premises on cultural resources. The fourth section of the paper discusses the mutually contradictory tri-partite policy responses of the British Government as it tries to reconcile planning policies that promote ‘cleaner, safer and greener’ town centres with, on the one hand, free market inspired licensing policies and, on the other, ‘tough’ policies towards crime and anti-social behaviour. The fifth section provides evidence that by contrast, some local practice is ahead of national policy in its imaginative and integrated approach. Finally, conclusions are drawn with regard to the concept of the creative milieu. It is argued that the English experience demonstrates the need for a clear policy vision that comprehends the differences between creativity, cultural resources and the consumption of alcohol as a primary entertainment activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The view that alternative consumption practices (i.e., informal and/or second-hand modes of goods acquisition) are used by disadvantaged urban consumers out of economic necessity has been recently opposed by cultural theorists who instead view participation in such practices as more a matter of choice. To evaluate these contrasting perspectives, this paper reports data from 120 interviews conducted in Leicester in England. Finding that the agency-orientated view of alternative consumption practices is valid in affluent urban populations but economic necessity remains the principal motive amongst lower-income urban populations, this paper concludes that for a fuller understanding to be achieved, there is a need to reconcile the dualistic either/or debates between those promulgating economic necessity and those emphasizing choice by adopting a both/and approach sensitive to the varying meanings of such practices across the urban landscape. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In recent years, Shanghai has seen a surge of culture-led urban regeneration efforts. The paper discusses the differentiated roles of artists in shaping Shanghai's three prominent arts districts. For simplicity of analysis and illustration, visual artists and environmental designers were crudely categorized into elite and non-elite groups depending on their exercised power in decision making in the transformation of the three sites. It was found that arts production and urban regeneration, two tightly state-controlled fields in China, were increasingly linked together in Chinese cities through capital circulation and conversion. Artists were a critical link of the two fields. There was a clear stratification and fragmentation among Shanghai artists. Elite artists possessed huge amounts of all types of capital, whereas non-elite members were disadvantaged on all fronts. In the field of urban regeneration, artists were not simply used unconsciously as “catalysts” by property interest and regeneration officials, but their elite segment also proactively helped reconstruct the physical and the symbolic urban spaces. The active participation in the real estate sector by cultural entrepreneurs aided the conversion of esthetic proposition in the arts field to culturally valorized spaces for sale in the urban regeneration field and this was enabled by the elite's extensive connections with other powerful social agents in the business and the state sectors built over previous experiences. For the non-elite artists, they participated in the transformative process unaware of their auxiliary roles yet they had not acted as a collective critical force against the hegemonic growth regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the role of culture in contemporary urban life? Can culture function as an urban planning tool for individual and social well-being? Two elements are of special relevance in this regard: cultural vibrancy in terms of level of initiative in policies, use of facilities and activities, and individual and social propensities towards the participation in, and consumption of, cultural activities and goods. This paper takes the recent path of research on the impact of cultural participation on the social and economic sustainability of urban processes, with a specific focus on the individual subjective well-being dimension. Two Italian cities, one endowed with a high stock of cultural facilities, activities, and access (Bolzano/Bozen) and the other with a comparatively much lower stock in all respects (Siracusa), are examined. Comparative analysis suggests that the impact of culture on subjective well-being in a context of high cultural supply and substantial cultural participation is much more relevant with respect to low-endowment and low-participation cases, thus suggesting the possibility of a culture/well-being positive feedback dynamics leading to urban ‘cultural poverty traps’. On the basis of these results, we draw some implications for cultural policy design in urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the tourists' awareness regarding UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) status of city destinations. A novel theoretical model defining macro and micro levels of analysis is constructed and used as research basis. A global sample of 105 WHS cities is examined together with corresponding user generated content from 2.5 million TripAdvisor reviews. Data collected is verified from various official sources, enriched, and thoroughly analyzed. It is shown that macro level attributes do not play a substantial role, while micro level factors significantly affect how much tourists and locals are aware of or interested in the UNESCO designation. Tourist demographics and representation of a city's attractions in social media are also shown to be important factors influencing the awareness. [Display omitted] • Tourists' awareness of urban UNESCO World Heritage Sites is examined. • A novel theoretical model is used to analyze tourists' awareness of heritage status. • Macro level attributes do not affect the awareness of heritage status. • Several micro level attributes affect the awareness of heritage status. • Representation of cities on social media affects awareness of heritage status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper aims to rethink creative city theory by analyzing urban regeneration processes in Japan through cultural creativity and social inclusion. The impact of Florida’s theory has led to the common misperception that cities prosper as people of the creative class, such as artists and gays, gather. However, attracting people of the creative class does not automatically make a creative city. Empirical analyses of Kanazawa City, clarify that the creative city needs a ‘culture-based production system’, a well-balanced system of cultural production and cultural consumption that takes advantage of accumulated cultural capital. This paper also examines Osaka City, where creative city policies failed to produce adequate results because they did not take root as a comprehensive urban strategy. However, in spite of these failures, a lively and inclusive grassroots movement has emerged around the creative city. This movement brings Osaka towards being a socially-inclusive creative city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In response to the fragmentation of individuals brought on by globalization, it is important to expand the positioning of the four quadrants of public space, based on cosmopolitanism, in order to re-establish the creativity of cities. By examining cases such as that of cultural urban branding at BMW-MINI, and Montreal’s puppet theatre, which chose to adopt the methods of Bunraku for its displays, this paper points out a direction for the building of an urban strategic management system that will expand the city’s capabilities. For creative cities, it is important to motivate people for implementing cultural urban branding by inserting balance into the process of expanding the four public spaces. Design and the arts can have integrative functions for attaining this. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]