09-07-2007

I do not see culture-led regeneration and physical regeneration as mutually exclusive. In fact, my understanding of culture-led regeneration comprises the different dimensions of a regeneration process, including physical as well as social and economic transformations. The distinctive characteristics of a culture-led regeneration process emerge out of the fact that it is driven by cultural activity, often with a high public profile. Common examples are major cultural events or iconic cultural infrastructures. But other examples could include a comprehensive urban cultural strategy or cultural planning approach. The main values attached to a regeneration process that is driven by cultural activity is the emphasis placed on identity issues, as well as creative developments, often linked to artistic creation. As a result, benefits commonly associated with culture-led regeneration initiatives are the strengthening of local identity and self-confidence and the ability to attract and retain creative talent. In my opinion, physical regeneration initiatives would benefit from being associated with a cultural plan or creative strategy to ensure they relate to the area’s local identity at the same time as retaining a distinct character.

It is not possible to generalise, particularly at a European level but, in my view, once local authorities decide to invest in and support such initiatives, they tend to overrate the possible outcomes of culture-led regeneration. This is particularly the case in the UK, where culture-led regeneration has become a keyword and key aspiration for most cities and regions - particularly those having suffered the effects of post-industrial economic decline.

The tendency to overrate potential outcomes is often fuelled by reports and related media coverage that offer a partial or inflated picture of the situation. While I do believe that culture-led regeneration initiatives can have an impact on city development, I would advise local authorities against believing that such initiatives alone can resolve all city’s economic and social ills. Culture-led regeneration should be understood as a factor that can contribute or advance the case for some issues (particularly in terms of local identity, self confidence and external perceptions) but cannot resolve structural problems on its own. This should not be a deterrent against the value of investing and supporting such initiatives. It is just a reminder that the value of culture should not only be measured on the grounds of the economic, social or environmental returns it can provide. The ‘cultural’ impacts of culture-led regeneration (such as strengthening people’s creative development, expanding cultural participation and engagement, strengthening notions of cultural citizenship and civic involvement, overcoming cultural, religious and ethnic identity barriers etc) should also be considered as positive and necessary elements of any given regeneration process.

Again it is not possible to generalise. Some governments have been able to maximise the positive effects of hosting a large scale cultural event better than others. By and large, governments have been able to benefit the most when the planning for the event has been embedded within long term planning and strategies for the host city and/or region. A well known example of this is the case of Barcelona, a city that has been building on the legacy of hosting the 1992 Olympic Games for the last fifteen years and has particularly benefited in cultural economic terms. Important factors in the success of Barcelona include the emphasis placed in upgrading its transport infrastructure, re-connecting outlying suburbs with each other as well as with the city centre; and the re-opening of the city to its seafront. Additional factors include the careful selection of key event venues, located throughout the city and placed in strategic areas that helped profile the city’s main cultural icons and attractions. All of these factors contain important cultural components and, at the time of planning, were linked to a cultural strategy for the city that has kept developing over the years and retains strong connections with the city’s approach to urban planning and regeneration.

The most important lesson is the need and value of establishing a research and evaluation programme at the outset of any major-event or large-scale regeneration initiative. This is fundamental in order to establish robust baselines that can in turn allow a consistent assessment of progress and provide evidence about the key outcomes of the experience. Impacts 08 has been set up as a longitudinal research programme and is assessing the multiple dimensions of regeneration, combining the assessment of economic with physical, social and cultural impacts. This approach is allowing a better understanding of areas of impact and providing a contextualisation to statistical trends that, if taken in isolation, could be misunderstood. Further, Impacts 08 is bringing the Higher Education Sector to engage with policy makers and practitioners, utilising academic enquiry to question and advance methodologies and inform the analysis of findings. This provides a valuable platform to progress in our understanding of cultural policy and its applications, potentials and limitations, which will be of value in their future development by local authorities.

As mentioned in the introduction of the Baseline Report 2006/07, it is unusual for a major cultural event to be to the only intervention that is underway in a city at any one time. In the research project, how do you make sure that you exclude impacts that are not related to ECoC from the study?

The first exercise we must undertake to achieve this is to establish how the ECoC is defined in a given city. In Liverpool, the ECoC is not just understood as a one-off event consisting of a series of cultural activities managed via a central office, but as part of a larger regeneration programme involving a wide range of stakeholders in the political, cultural, business, educational and community fields. This means that, in the case of Liverpool, the overlaps between areas of intervention will be particularly acute and difficult to disentangle. Nevertheless, we are committed to offer some level of impact disaggregation.

This can be achieved by distinguishing between areas of direct impact and areas of indirect or secondary impact. We are defining the main area of direct impact as the levels of cultural participation and engagement. We are establishing a definition for ECoC related activity that is strongly interrelated with a definition of the city’s current ‘cultural system’ (which involves the range of stakeholders listed above), and we have established a matrix of indicators for participation and wider engagement within this ‘system’. This will provide information about audience sizes, demographics and also, importantly, about people’s own understanding and level of interest in what they define as ‘culture’, ‘Liverpool culture’ or the ‘Liverpool ECoC’. Information about the nature of the city’s ‘cultural system’ - particularly, the key actors involved and the nature of their relationships - will also allow an assessment of its main strengths or levels of ‘cultural vibrancy’ in the city. This assessment will incorporate an analysis of direct links (or areas of impact) between the city’s key cultural strengths (and changing trends over tim e) and their relationship with the ECoC - be it in terms of funding, partnership agreements, promotional support etc.

Associated with our assessment of impacts on ‘participation’ and on the nature of the ‘city’s cultural system’, we are undertaking an assessment of impacts on city image, which we argue, can also be considered an area of ‘direct impact’ as we will be able to study changes in the perception and awareness about Liverpool for those who have ‘participated’ or been engaged in ECoC related activity (and its ties with the wider cultural system) as opposed to those who do not.

Our study of economic, physical and wider social impacts will build on these three previous areas of impact. As such, claims about economic impact will be based on indicators that can be linked to our participation, engagement, cultural vibrancy and image change indicators. A similar exercise will be undertaken to account for physical and social impacts.

The diagram below may serve as a useful indication of the approach we are taking to establish lines of direct and indirect impact.

Building on the findings of previous research on ECoCs such as Glasgow 1990, I expect that the main contribution will be in terms of image change. Liverpool is a city that has suffered the effects of economic decline and is often perceived, within the UK, in negative terms that tend to build on out-of-date preconceptions. Our assessment of press coverage about Liverpool in 1996 (before the bid), 2003 (bid and nomination) and 2005 suggests that the ECoC is acting as an important platform to establish a different narrative about Liverpool, one that is increasingly focused on culture-related and economic development stories with a predominantly positive tone. The development of extensive nation-wide and international advertising and marketing campaigns about the city and the ECoC will also generate attention and encourage additional visitors to the city.

Another important contribution will be in terms of strengthening the city’s cultural system, in particular, the reinforcement of formal relationships between established cultural institutions and other relevant actors in the tourism sector as well as political and business groups. Since Liverpool’s nomination as ECoC, the city’s cultural assets have become more visible and more central to the debate about the city’s key strengths and future development within circles that had not previously been directly involved in cultural matters. Importantly, the main ECoC cultural programme is building strongly on the offer and activities of established Liverpool arts and cultural institutions, so it is expected that it will act as a showcase of local talent and evidence of its national and international significance. Further, the local authorities are currently working on the establishment of a comprehensive cultural strategy which should assist in the protection and promotion of the city’s cultural vibrancy and help attract and retain creative and cultural talent, establishing the right balance between the levels of cultural consumption and cultural production in the city.