Making in the city : disjunctures between public discourse and urban policy

Kylie Budge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Creative cities contribute much to the cultural economies and identities of a nation, shaping imagination and talent, and contributing to the sense of livability and place. Artists, designers, crafters, tinkerers, and even small-scale manufacturers are at the heart of urban rejuvenation in cities such as Brooklyn in New York, and Newcastle and Melbourne in Australia. Increasingly this activity is referred to in the public realm via the media, including social media, through the all-encompassing term ‘making’. Yet in much public policy, this activity is framed through previously held notions: artists, culture, and the precincts associated with this life. I explore this disjuncture by focusing on a case study of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, to interrogate the current schism between public and policy discourse. I share findings about the role of discourse, community consultation, and timing in policy development to argue that valuing making in cities requires commitment to continual community consultation to ensure policy currency, with makers as key stakeholders in this dialogue. Furthermore, the intersection of policy domains is required to prevent isolating making into one policy area. I highlight implications for the imagining of creative cities.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)185-199
Number of pages15
JournalAustralian Geographer
Volume50
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Sydney (N.S.W.)
  • city planning
  • political participation
  • urban renewal

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