Uses and Misuses of Arts and Culture in Community and Urban Development II

From creative class and neo-bohemia, through entertainment and cultural events, urban revitalization and neighbourhood regeneration, to New Urbanism, cultural place making and scenes, contemporary literature abounds in evidence that arts and cultural interventions bring development. On the other hand, however, there are many voices pointing to negative effects of cultural interventions, namely: gentrification, touristification, displacement and unsustainability. Is thus art and culture a good or bad way to develop? This session aims to identify uses and misuses of arts and culture in urban planning and thus answer the question on what kind of factors determine whether cultural intervention favours development or leads to regress. We encourage explanatory analysis of mechanisms of arts and culture in community context that would articulate evidence to choose between competing interpretations. We look for presentations showing and explaining relationships between arts factors and (under)development rather than normative statements such as proposing to reduce poverty without showing how arts and culture reduce poverty.