The role of festivals in

1
The role of festivals in revitalising public
social life and the urban public sphere Franco
Bianchini Leeds Metropolitan University f.bianchin
i_at_leedsmet.ac.uk
2
The standardisation and corporatisation of cities
The standardisation and privatisation of public
space an urban renaissance? The anywhere and
everywhere shopping mall
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Urban sprawl and hypertrophy
The dull new public realm of out-of-town
shopping centres and citadels of
entertainment towards the obese city The sad
centrality of car parks
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Rethinking Policy Planning approaches to
creative spaces in urban regional centres
The theming of cities the experience
economy (Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore)? and
festival marketplaces Experiential
retailing and eatertainment Horror
vacui? The danger of museumisation The
economy of controlled experiences In
return for the assurance of safety and certainty,
theme park visitors surrender an extraordinary
degree of control, both in terms of freedom of
movement and freedom of imagination (John
Hannigan, Fantasy City)?
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Other threats to public social life and the
public sphere
Less leisure time for people in work The problem
of work-life balance The fast city and the
values of slowness (see www.slowmovement.com)? Th
e problem of information overload

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Other threats to public social life and the
public sphere
Night-time economies the dream of a convivial
café culture, and the reality of the alcoholic
agora (and its costs)?
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Other threats to public social life and the
public sphere
The audit society The growth of social
inequality and socio-economic polarisation Gro
wing fear of the other The temptation of
gated communities
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Other threats to public social life and the
public sphere
The decline of political participation The
emergence of anti-politics movements The
growing gulf between urban policy rhetoric
and socio-economic realities on the ground The
emergence of criminal economies and lawless
cities the case of Naples
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The place of festivals in urban cultural
policies today The uneasy coexistence
of policy rationales originating in different
historical periods
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The growth of immigration and
multi-ethnicity
National approaches to managing ethnic diversity
are being questioned Corporate multiculturalism
(UK, Netherlands)? Civic cultural integration
(France)?
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Rethinking Policy Planning approaches to
creative spaces in urban rural centres
The creative potential of interculturalism see ww
w.interculturalcity.com) and the book The
Intercultural City. Planning for Diversity
Advantage, by Phil Wood and Charles
Landry (London, Earthscan)? The rise of
intercultural festivals
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Rethinking Policy Planning approaches to
creative spaces in urban rural centres
The transformative power of festivals H.
Lefebvres notion of la fête Are festivals
festive? The danger of instrumentalisation T
he widening of peoples mental and spatial
horizons Festivals as public debate fora
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Rethinking Policy Planning approaches to
creative spaces in urban rural centres
Research methodologies Researching European
Cities and European Capitals of Culture The
Impacts 08 experiment in Liverpool Researching
the role of festivals in developing or
strengthening new creative milieux and urban
visions