"Creative and cultural clusters, urban regeneration processes and the promotion of "authenticity": dynamics and effects of culture-led local development strategies in Raval and Kreuzberg".

Abstract

This research aims at investigating the management and development of culture-led regeneration strategies in two ex- industrial districts. In the context of the knowledge society and cultural economy, and with the decline of the industrial sector, culture and creativity become key-drivers for local development in post-modern cities. Through a comparative study of Raval and Kreuzberg, two multiethnic and ex-marginalized neighborhoods centrally located, this study intends to analyze how cities are attempting to develop creative clusters in order to foster economic growth and urban regeneration of dismissed areas. The attractiveness of these emerging cultural districts is promoted by the involvement of place-branding strategies based on narratives that highlight the value of authenticity and underground culture in contrast to the mainstream cultural images of cities. In both neighborhoods, top-down cultural interventions, established at a first stage from local authorities at different levels, have an impact on the community, the civic associations and the cultural environment already existing in the areas, creating new urban identities and social concerns. This paper demonstrates how, in two cultural strategic plans occurring in similar socio-economic contexts, diverse management processes and dynamics among the actors involved led to consistent differences in the creative clusters development paths.