Abstract
This study investigates the problem of cultural participation in economically and socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It aims at ascertaining if and how arts can contribute to reduce the problems of social inclusion and foster urban regeneration. The analysis provides a comparative overview of different types of private supply of cultural goods, which are investigated with respect to their effectiveness in accomplishing these goals. Past experiences in the disadvantaged areas of the city of Catania are then used as a case study to identify critical aspects of each investigated form of private supply and to derive general suggestions for the design of public policies.
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Notes
- 1.
See Suarez and Mayor (2017) for an analysis of potential policies of localization of cultural facilities.
- 2.
Our approach then differs from the traditional one where education proceeds from the old generation to the young one (see, for example, Champarnaud et al. 2008).
- 3.
The centre corresponds approximately to the expansion of the city’s territory up until the two main disasters which occurred in the late seventeenth century: Etna’s eruption in 1669 and the earthquake in 1693 that almost completely destroyed the city. Its actual condition is the result of the economic development process undertaken in the post-war period, the city’s renovation policies adopted in the 1990s and the more recent decline over the last decade, which has blocked the process of gentrification and has substantially increased the degree of deterioration of those already problematic areas.
- 4.
In Italy, for example, higher rates of cultural participation are associated with a more healthy and active lifestyle (that affects life expectancy), as well as higher levels of education, income and social cohesion (Morrone and De Mauro 2008).
- 5.
Moreover, ambiguities may emerge in the overlapping use of the terms ‘social exclusion’, ‘social cohesion’ and ‘social capital’ (Fine 2002). For example, an influential study by Kearns and Forest (2000) includes several dimensions of ‘social cohesion’, such as: common values, civic culture, social order, solidarity and reductions in wealth disparities, social networks and social capital, all of which have to be evaluated according to the specific territorial tier under investigation.
- 6.
For a theoretical analysis of the economic effects of the individual perception of group identity, see Akerlof and Kranton (2000).
- 7.
- 8.
We do not consider immigrants, because this is a rather recent phenomenon and, more importantly, because the cultural integration of people from other countries and different ethnicities raises additional and perhaps more demanding questions that go beyond the scope of our study.
- 9.
The district of San Berillo was almost completely demolished in the 1957 in order to link the industrial sulphuric area, the train station on the seaside and town centre. After the demolition, this area remained mainly abandoned with the population deported to the new peripheral quarter of San Leone in the western part of the city.
- 10.
In contrast, regeneration projects involved areas outside the historical centre. For example, the former sulphuric industrial area (Centro fieristico le Ciminiere) was completely renewed and is now a relevant cultural and fair centre. There we find Centro Zo, a cultural association involved in planning and production of cultural events. For an analysis of its multidisciplinary cultural activities, see Cellini et al. (2017).
- 11.
For a description of this activity and others performed in the Spanish Quarters, see Cyop and Kaf (2013).
- 12.
This case differs from the previous one of the Spanish quarters in Naples because, in the latter case, the production of wall paintings was mainly directed towards satisfying the demand of the residents and not as a public space art.
- 13.
Campo San Teodoro Liberato is a former abandoned soccer pitch located in Librino, which has been occupied by a social voluntary group. Currently, it organizes several social and sport activities.
- 14.
See Mannino and Mignosa (2017), for more information about Officine Culturali’s mission and cultural activity.
- 15.
In this respect, the presence of artists is not sufficient (see the Spanish Quarters of Naples). Actually, artists have often worked in contexts which can be defined as affected by social exclusion (Arts Council 2000), also involving individuals living in such a context, but this does determine a socially inclusive activity, if it does not tackle issues associated to social exclusion (Jermyn 2001).
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Martorana, M.F., Mazza, I., Monaco, L. (2017). Participation in the Arts and Social Inclusion in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods. In: Ateca-Amestoy, V., Ginsburgh, V., Mazza, I., O'Hagan, J., Prieto-Rodriguez, J. (eds) Enhancing Participation in the Arts in the EU. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09096-2_6
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