Mega-events and the city: Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture in the residents’ perception

Journal title RIVISTA GEOGRAFICA ITALIANA
Author/s Carlo Salone, Francesco Arfò
Publishing Year 2020 Issue 2020/3
Language Italian Pages 25 P. 5-29 File size 250 KB
DOI 10.3280/RGI2020-003001
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

In the current accumulation regime, policies of urban development focusing on culture have become a common practice, on both the supply side (offering physical facilities and financial support to the cultural and creative industries) and the demand side (event organisation, tourism promotion campaigns). A broad scientific debate has been developed on the nexus between culture and development, providing a drawback and a legitimation to consistent public policies, especially at the urban scale. However, cultural production and consumption are often associated with very different and often conflictual phenomena. According to some authors (Bridge, 2006; Kaasa e Vadi, 2010; Scott, 2000), the development of the cultural sector supports the economic growth and urban competitive advantage, by generating new knowledge for innovation and creativity but, also, positive effects on the related activities. Others emphasise the ability of culture to include people and enlarge civil rights creating a more equal society (Stern e Seifert, 2007), or assign to culture both competitive advantages and benefits for social inclusion, but do not clarify the relationships between these two dimensions (Sacco e Segre, 2009). In this paper the case of Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture is explored in the light of the culture-driven urban development theories. The analysis of Matera 2019 aims at measuring the socio-spatial impacts currently observable and investigating how the Matera’s residents have interacted with the event, through an analysis of their opinions about the implemented actions and the envisaged scenarios for the city.

Keywords: Culture-led urban development, mega-events, Matera

  1. Adduce S., Verri P. (2015). Open Future – al servizio dell’Italia, al servizio dell’Europa il progetto Matera 2019 come esperimento per nuovi modelli di crescita sociale fondata sulla cultura, Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019.
  2. Bailey C., Miles S., Stark P. (2004). Culture-led urban regeneration and the revitalization of identities in Newcastle, Gateshead and the North East of England. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 10(1): 47-64. DOI: 10.1080/102866304200021232
  3. Bencivenga A., Buccino L., Giampietro A.M., Pepe A. (2016). Il processo partecipativo di una comunita coinvolta in un mega evento: il caso di Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019. Annali del turismo, 1: 203-226.
  4. Bianchini F. (1993). Culture, conflict and cities: issues and prospects for the 1990s. In: Bianchini F., Parkinson M., Cultural Policy and Urban Regeneration: the West European Experience. Manchester University Press, 199-213.
  5. Id. (2007). Thinking culturally about place. Place Branding And Public Diplomacy, 3(4): 280-286.
  6. Id., Albano R., Bollo A. (2013). The regenerative impacts of the European City/Capital of Culture events. In: Leary M.E., McCarthy J., eds., The Routledge Companion to Urban Regeneration. Routledge, 515-526.
  7. Bridge G. (2006). Perspectives on cultural capital and the neighborhood. Urban Studies, 43(4): 719-730. DOI: 10.1080/0042098060059739
  8. Chatterton P., Hollands R. (2002). Theorising urban playscapes: Producing, regulating and consuming youthful nightlife city spaces. Urban Studies, 39(1): 95-116. DOI: 10.1080/0042098022009909
  9. CNA (2019). Turismo, indagine CNA: a Matera è già boom, Web, 16/07/19, consultato il 17/01/2020. 2019 -- link: www.cna.it/turismo-indagine-cna-a-matera-e-gia-boom-dipresenze.
  10. Colangelo D., Pepe A. (2020). The Impact of European Capital of Culture on Tourism and Local Involvement: Matera 2019 Case Study. In: Katsoni V., Spyriadis T., eds., Cultural and Tourism Innovation in the Digital Era. Cham: Springer, 79-88.
  11. Crivello S., Salone C. (2013). Arte e spazio urbano: lineamenti interpretativi. In Crivello S., Salone C., a cura di, Arte contemporanea e sviluppo urbano: esperienze torinesi. Milano: FrancoAngeli, 9-25.
  12. Cuccia T., Santagata W. (2002). Distretto Culturale e Gestione dei Diritti di Proprieta: la Ceramica di Caltagirone, Working Paper Series, 6, International Centre for Research on the Economics of Culture, Institutions, and Creativity (EBLA), Dip. Economia e Statistica “Cognetti de Martiis”, Universita degli Studi di Torino.
  13. Ead., Marrelli M., Santagata W. (2007). Collective Trademarks and Cultural Districts: the Case of San Gregorio Armeno – Naples, Working Paper Series, 1, International Centre for Research on the Economics of Culture, Institutions, and Creativity (EBLA), Dip. Economia e Statistica “Cognetti de Martiis”, Universita degli Studi di Torino.
  14. Cuesta J. (2004). From economicist to culturalist development theories: How strong is the relation between cultural aspects and economic development? The European Journal of Development Research, 16, 4: 868-891. DOI: 10.1080/0957881041233133267
  15. D’Eramo M. (2017). Il selfie del mondo. Milano: Feltrinelli.
  16. Delgado Ruiz M. (2001). Memoria y lugar: El espacio pùblico como crisis de significado. Valencia: Ediciones Generales de la Construccion.
  17. Id. (2007). Sociedades Movedizas. Pasos Hacia una Antropología de las Calles. Barcellona: Anagrama.
  18. Elden S., Lebas E. (2003). Introduction: Coming to terms with Lefebvre. In: Elden S., Lebas S., Kofman E., eds., Henri Lefebvre: Key Writings. New York and London: Continuum, 11-19.
  19. Evans G. (2001). Cultural planning. An urban Renaissance? Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.
  20. Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class. And how it’s transforming work, leisure, community, and everyday life. New York: Basic Books. Fondazione Matera-Basilicata 2019 (2014). Matera Candidate City European Capital of Culture 2019 – dossier Open Future.
  21. Fraser B. (2014). Inaugural editorial: Urban Cultural studies - a manifesto (Part 1). Journal of Urban Cultural Studies, 1(1): 3-17, Intellect.
  22. Garcia B. (2004). Cultural policy and urban regeneration in Western European cities: lessons from experience, prospects for the future. Local Economy, 19(4): 312-326. DOI: 10.1080/026909404200028682
  23. Garibaldi R. (2012). Il turismo culturale europeo: prospettive fino al 2020. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  24. Gibson L., Stevenson D. (2004). Urban Space and the Uses of Culture. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 10(1): 1-4.
  25. Greco L. (2012). La difficile transizione del distretto del mobile imbottito: la tentazione individualista e le istanze collettive in un contesto di ridimensionamento. Mimeo, Bari:
  26. Dipartimento di Scienze politiche, Universita degli Studi di Bari.
  27. Ead. (2015). Il distretto del mobile imbottito della Murgia: resilienza e risorse sociali per l’azione. Meridiana, 84: 91-117.
  28. Gruneau R., Horne J., eds. (2016). Mega-Events and Globalization. Capital and spectacle in a changing world order. London: Routledge.
  29. Hiller H.H. (2000). Mega‐events, urban boosterism and growth strategies: an analysis of the objectives and legitimations of the Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid. International journal of urban and regional research, 24(2): 449-458. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.0025
  30. Kaasa A., Vadi M. (2010). How does culture contribute to innovation? Evidence from European countries Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 19(7): 583-604. DOI: 10.1080/1043859090298722
  31. Landry C. (2000). The creative city: A toolkit for urban innovators. Londra: Earthscan.
  32. Lahdesmaki T. (2013). Cultural activism as a counter-discourse to the European Capital of Culture programme: The case of Turku 2011. European journal of cultural studies, 16(5): 598-619. DOI: 10.1177/136754941349172
  33. Ead. (2014). Identity Politics in the European Capital of Culture Initiative. Joensuu: Publications of the University of Eastern Finland.
  34. Lefevbre H. (1968). Le droit à la ville. Parigi: Anthropos.
  35. Id. (1974). La Production de l’espace. Parigi: Anthropos.
  36. Id. (1996). Writings on Cities, a cura di Eleonore Kofman and Elizabeth Lebas. Cambridge: Blackwell.
  37. Id. (2003). The urban revolution, Translated by R. Bononno. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  38. Ley D., Olds K. (1988). Landscape as spectacle: world’s fairs and the culture of heroic consumption. Environment and planning D: society and space, 6(2): 191-212.
  39. Mathews V. (2010). Aestheticizing space: Art, gentrification and the city. Geography Compass, 4(6): 660-675.
  40. Paasi A. (2003). Region and place: regional identity in question. Progress in human geography, 27(4): 475-485.
  41. Picascia S., Romano A., Teobaldi M. (2017). The airification of cities: making sense of the impact of peer to peer short term letting on urban functions and economy. Proceedings of the Annual Congress of the Association of European Schools of Planning, luglio 2017. Lisbona: 11-14.
  42. Pieterse J.P. (2010). Development Theory: Deconstructions/Reconstructions. Literature &Art. Maastricht, RS: FASoS GTD. DOI: 10.4135/978144627908
  43. Rossi U., Vanolo A. (2010). Geografia politica urbana. Bari: Laterza.
  44. Sacco P.L., Segre G. (2009). Creativity, cultural investment and local development: A new theoretical framework for endogenous growth. In: Fratesi U., Senn L., a cura di, Growth and Innovation of Competitive Regions. Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
  45. Santagata W. (2002). Cultural Districts, Property Rights and Sustainable Economic Growth. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 26(1): 9-23. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.0036
  46. Id. (2004). Cultural Districts and Economic Development, Working Paper Series, 01, International Centre for Research on the Economics of Culture, Institutions, and Creativity (EBLA), Dip. Economia e Statistica “Cognetti de Martiis”, Universita degli Studi di Torino.
  47. Id. (2006). Cultural Districts and Their Role in Developed and Developing Countries. In: Ginsburgh V.A., Throsby D., a cura di, Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, 1, 1(31): 1101-1119.
  48. Scott A.J. (1997). The cultural economy of cities. International Journal of Urban and
  49. Regional Research, 21(2): 323-339. DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.0007
  50. Id. (2000). The cultural economy of cities. Essays on the geography of image-producing industries. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
  51. Id. (2004). Cultural-products industries and urban economic development. Prospects for growth and market contestation in global context. Urban Affairs Review, 39(4): 461-490. DOI: 10.1177/107808740326125
  52. Id. (2008). Social economy of the metropolis: Cognitive-cultural capitalism and the global resurgence of cities. Oxford: OUP.
  53. Id. (2014). Villes et regions du capitalisme cognitif et culturel. L’Espace géographique, 43(3): 215-226.
  54. Semi G. (2015). Gentrification: tutte le città come Disneyland? Bologna: Il Mulino.
  55. Sharp J., Pollock V., Paddison R. (2005). Just art for a just city: Public art and social inclusion in urban regeneration. Urban Studies. 42(5-6): 1001-1023.
  56. Smith A. (2012). Events and urban regeneration. The strategic use of events to revitalise cities. London-New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/978020313699
  57. Stern M.J., Seifert S.C. (2007). Culture and urban revitalization: A harvest document. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  58. Stoker G., Mossberger K. (1994). Urban regime theory in comparative perspective. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 12: 195-212.
  59. Stone (1989). Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
  60. Throsby D. (2001). Economics and Culture. Cambridge-New York-Melbourne: Cambridge UP.
  61. Tommarchi E., Hansen L.E., Bianchini F. (2018). Problematising the question of participation in Capitals of Culture. Participations. Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 15(2): 154-169.
  62. Tucker V. (1996). Introduction: A cultural perspective on development. The European Journal of Development Research, 8(2): 1-21. DOI: 10.1080/0957881960842666
  63. Vanolo A. (2008). The image of the creative city: Some reflections on urban branding in Turin. Cities, 25(6): 370-382.
  64. Zukin S. (1995). The Culture of Cities. Cambridge: Blackwell.

Carlo Salone, Francesco Arfò, Città e grandi eventi: il programma Matera Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019 nella percezione dei residenti in "RIVISTA GEOGRAFICA ITALIANA" 3/2020, pp 5-29, DOI: 10.3280/RGI2020-003001