MESOC Serapeum | Where culture meets AI

Id		218
Author		Navarro Yanez, C., J.
Title		Do ‘creative cities’ have a dark side? Cultural scenes and socioeconomic status in Barcelona and Madrid (1991–2001)
Reference		Navarro Yanez, C.J. (2013). Do ‘creative cities’ have a dark side? Cultural scenes and socioeconomic status in Barcelona and Madrid (1991–2001). Cities, 35: 213‑220.
Keywords		Cultural scenes; Creativity; Gentrification; Urban policies; Spain
Link to article		https://doi-org.sire.ub.edu/10.1016/j.cities.2013.05.007
Abstract		Studies of culture and creativity have shown that they can play an effective role in promoting local development. However, cultural projects and strategies oriented to promote creativity may also promote inequalities inside the city. According to the gentrification thesis, the result of these strategies could be segregation processes and the generation of “tourist bubbles”. Thus, “creative cities” may have a “dark side”, which becomes apparent when the analysis compares differences whitin instead of among cities. This article aims to examine this issue in two large Spanish cities (Barcelona and Madrid) by analyzing the change in socioeconomic status and cultural scenes between 1991 and 2001 at the city and neighborhoods levels. This analysis will attempt to answer two main questions: is localization of cultural scenes in the city associated with socioeconomic status?, does this relationship varies between cities? The main results indicate a positive answer for these questions. First, there is a strong relationship between socioeconomic status and non-conventional cultural scenes. Nevertheless, cross-lagged regression analyses show that change in cultural scenes depends on socioeconomic status, whereas the effect of cultural scenes on socioeconomic change is weaker. Second, this pattern is stronger in Madrid than in Barcelona: a stronger relationship between cultural scenes and socioeconomic status exists in Madrid, and socioeconomic status had a stronger effect on changes cultural scenes between 1991 and 2001. This difference may be explained by the urban policies developed in these cities. More comparative analyses needed to confirm this potential dark side of creative cities.
Metodology		In order to examine the changes in the socio-economic features of the two cities some classic indicators from the 1991 and 2001 censuses have been selected (age groups, unemployment level, educational level and socio-economic status of inhabitants). With regard to the cultural dimension, two indicators were utilized: the density of the cultural market, in terms of the number of cultural installations per capita, and the orientation of their cultural scenes.
Technique		Statistical analysis