Social Enterprise and the Development of Cultural Heritage Assets as Catalysts for Urban Placemaking

Abstract

This paper aims to establish the value of urban cultural heritage sites to local population centres as a means to strengthen community bonds and form new hubs of social activity. Sympathetic, sustainable regeneration of such shared assets can often create opportunities for new forms of Social Enterprise, and their powerful historical identity can greatly assist with further placemaking within established urban environments.

The Hotwalls Studios comprises thirteen self-contained artist’s studios and workshops housed within the historic casemate arches of Point Battery, a defensive fortification situated at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbour. As the centrepiece of the site, the studios have been deliberately designed as passive environments in which artists and visitors are encouraged to interact and engage with one another, with the goal of improving communities through cultural and social endeavours. The site now plays host to regular arts-based events, including exhibitions, seasonal markets and public activities. In the context of this recent project in Portsmouth, UK, we hope to demonstrate that such developments greatly benefit both heritage sites and local populations. Providing financial security, nurturing social and creative pursuits, encouraging sustainable design and reinvigorating communities with a new understanding of a shared historical and cultural identity, are all benefits of a framework which we believe can be successfully applied to many such sites throughout the world.