flagship regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • because other cities are launching...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem?
Brian Doucet PhD Student Utrecht University
EURA Conference Glasgow, September 12-14 2007
![Page 2: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
What are flagships?
• Large scale land and property developments which play an influential role in urban regeneration
• Catalyst for further regeneration and development
• Marketing tool or advertising board for re-imaging cities
![Page 3: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Examples• Convention Centres (SECC, Glasgow)
• Luxury shopping malls (Faneuil Hall, Boston)
• Museums (Guggenheim, Bilbao)
• High-profile office developments (Canary Wharf)
• Waterfront developments (Inner Harbour, Baltimore)
• Also some tourist attractions, high profile housing developments (Montevideo, Kop van Zuid, Rotterdam)
![Page 4: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Inner Harbour, Baltimore
![Page 5: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Kop van Zuid, Rotterdam
![Page 6: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Aims of this paper:
• To better understand:
• Why flagships are still a popular form of urban regeneration?
• What have been the major criticisms of flagships?
• How these relate to the perspective of local residents.
![Page 7: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Why do cities still pursue flagships?
![Page 8: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
1. Ideological shift• Shift in public policy away from redistributive
measures
• Belief that they will solve urban problems
• Belief that they are secure investments
![Page 9: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
2. Tangible benefits of flagships
• Physical transformation of areas/symbol of change
• Catalyst for further development
• Catalyst for a new industry (i.e. tourism)
• Increase property prices, gentrification
• Residents: hope to boost civic pride, provide new spaces to visit
![Page 10: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
3. Re-branding and re- imaging
• Flagships are linked to re-imaging campaigns
• Large advertising billboards
• Primarily aimed at outsiders, rather than residents
• Copy successes in other cities (Baltimore, Glasgow)
![Page 11: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
4. Cities have few other options
• Little else that city councils can do to attract public and private investment
• “Keeping up with the Jones”
• Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit
![Page 12: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Critiques of flagships
![Page 13: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
1. Conflicting visions of the city• Vision of the city promoted by boosters
is different from one seen by residents
• Who are flagships designed for: residents or outsiders?
• Selective idea of ‘liveability’
• Will many residents feel excluded?
![Page 14: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
2. Flagships as a diversion for the masses
• Spectacle serves to divert attention from the real social problems of the city
• Roman Bread and Circuses formula
• To what extent are residents aware of this?
![Page 15: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
3. The Cookie-cutter effect• “Clone Cities”
• Not every city that wants to have a major international flagship can have one
• “How many successful stadia, Disney-worlds, harbour places and spectacular shopping malls can there be?” (Harvey)
• AutoWorld, Flint Michigan
![Page 16: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
4. Greater socioeconomic polarisation
• Focus on wealth creation, rather than distribution
• Failures of trickle-down (jobs)
• Divert scarce municipal funds
• Create high-end consumption-based spaces
• Resident responses: cynicism, exclusion?
![Page 17: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
5. Greater Spatial Polarisation
• ‘Two Speed Revitalisation’
• Site Specific, focus on areas of highest return (city centres, waterfronts)
• Examples: Baltimore, Glasgow
• Flagships as a catalyst for gentrification
![Page 18: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Conclusions
• Flagships are necessary to create a new image of a city, and act as a catalyst for further investment
• Flagships as a regeneration tool cannot adequately address issues of poverty and inequality
![Page 19: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
• But what are the views and perspectives of residents towards flagships?
• Do they embrace them or do they feel alienated by them?
• How would these results vary among different socioeconomic groups? In different neighbourhoods?
![Page 20: Flagship Regeneration: panacea or urban problem? · • Because other cities are launching flagships and re-branding themselves, others must follow suit. Faculty of Geosciences Department](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022043011/5fa4ba9eb0fefb14bf7768e3/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Faculty of Geosciences Department of Human Geography and Planning
Questions? Comments?
Email:[email protected]