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Fighting for the global catwalk: formalizing public life in Castlefield (Manchester) and diluting public life in el Raval (Barcelona) Export

by: Monica Degen
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 27, No. 4. (2003), pp. 867-880.

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access accessibility aesthetics barcelona capitalism castlefield change cities citylife consumerism design designer economics economy elraval embeddedness england environment facelift form formalization geography globalization heritage innercity landscape manchester marginality neighborhood performance physical planning politics power preservation profit public regeneration reorganization sense senses sensescape sensuality sensuous social society spain spatiality spatialization strategy transformation uk urban urbanism

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Increasingly cities are using regeneration strategies to revive their economy and to give a facelift to their physical environment to compete on a global catwalk. As urban environments change, their sensuous geography is also altered. This article argues that the transformation of sensescapes has been a neglected dimension of urban politics that needs to be analysed. By focusing on two inner-city neighbourhoods, el Raval in Barcelona and Castlefield in Manchester, I examine how power expresses itself in the sensuous reorganization of public space, thus shaping public life. I first develop a theoretical framework around the concept of 'socially embedded aesthetics' to uncover sensuous-material and social spatializations of power. I then compare and contrast the key discourses in interviews held with planners and politicians driving the regeneration process. Supported by my own ethnographic observations two aspects are analysed: firstly, the physical reorganization of the neighbourhoods shaped by the strategy of accessibility and 'designer heritage aesthetic'; secondly, the envisaged public life that the transformation of public places is expected to support. The research unveils similar sensuous ideological frameworks in the regeneration of both these areas: processes that foster the inclusion of commercially profitable experiences in public places and the exclusion of marginal ones or those that do not fit into the conceived vision of official agents. Les villes ont de plus en plus recours à des stratégies de régénération pour ranimer leur économie et 'ravaler' leur environnement physique, afin de rivaliser sur une passerelle planétaire. Tandis que les cadres urbains évoluent, leur géographie sensorielle se modifie. La transformation des 'paysages sensoriels' est une dimension négligée de la politique urbaine alors qu'elle exige une analyse. En s'attachant à deux anciens quartiers centraux, El Raval à Barcelone et Castlefield à Manchester, l'étude examine comment le pouvoir s'exprime dans la réorganisation sensorielle de l'espace public, reconfigurant donc la vie publique. L'article définit d'abord une structure théorique autour du concept 'd'esthétique socialement incrustée', montrant ainsi les spatialisations sensori-physiques et sociales du pouvoir. Il compare et oppose ensuite les discours-clés tenus lors d'entretiens avec des spécialistes de l'aménagement et politiciens menant la démarche de régénération. Appuyée par les observations ethnographiques de l'auteur, l'analyse porte sur deux aspects: d'une part, la réorganisation physique des quartiers en fonction de la stratégie d'accessibilité et 'd'esthétique patrimoniale du concepteur'; d'autre part, la vie publique prévue, censée être favorisée par la transformation des lieux publics. Cette recherche révèle des structures idéologiques sensorielles similaires dans la démarche de régénération, lesquelles encouragent l'inclusion d'expériences porteuses de bénéfices commerciaux dans les espaces publics, et l'exclusion d'activités marginales ou de celles qui ne coïncident pas avec la vision conçue par les officiels.


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