Creative placemaking: Study explores the processes behind European Capitals of Culture
A research team of the West University of Timisoara in Romania examined the process of creative placemaking. By looking at the impact of cultural interventions and adaptive reuse on industrial areas in the framework of a European Capital of Culture. The findings include a theoretical understanding of the processes and influences for successful and lasting cultural development. IATM is taking a look at the study in view of its upcoming conference on culture-led regeneration.
Alexandra-Camelia Marian-Potra, Anita Denisa Caizer, Nicolae Popa, Amelia Laura Ile and Catalina Ancuțan investigated the European Capital of Culture 2023 (ECoC) cultural programme in Timisoara, Romania. The goal was to highlight the processes of creative placemaking. By looking at the temporary interventions developed as part of ECoC 2023. It investigates the dynamics of events during and after ECoC 2023. Additionally, pre-event data from longitudinal studies and interviews fed into the analysis.
Methodology
A variety of data was compiled for the research:
- 819 events
- 70 spaces,
- 1053 Google Maps reviews,
- 13 interviews,
- and direct observations.
The data was centralized, and coded – for the interviews a method of thematic coding was applied. The data included “four cluster locations in three urban areas representative of collective memory.”
European Capital of Culture serving as a catalyst for reconfiguration depends on local landscape
Through an in-depth data triangulation, the researchers were able to identify a number of key findings:
The impact of ECoC TM2023 depended on the maturity of cultural initiatives in the different locations.
“Areas with strong cultural infrastructures exhibit stable models, while those with fragile networks have seen development stimulated and demonstrate growth potential.”
The city of Timisoara caries a visible heritage from the industrial and socialist periods. Thus, the potential for cultural development is high as well as needs support to be stable within the shifted structures as local and governmental level. It shows, that a basis for success is the existing foundation built by artists and a broader community in advance.
“Our research emphasizes the central role of local artists in the initiation and enabling of creative placemaking processes, supported by collaborative institutional, independent, and community structures.”
In conclusion, the study identified three creative placemaking models: emergent, collaborative, and institutional. In comparison with other research results and based on their findings, a three structural dimensions framework is suggested to explain these processes in the context of ECoC pop-up cultural events and post-industrialism.
A full report by the study’s authors is available on Research Gate.
