Policy-making as an emotionally-charged arena: the emotional geographies of urban cultural policy-making

ABSTRACT

Analysis of the role emotions play in a range of social processes has increased significantly, but is neglected in the context of cultural policy-making. Recent literatures in feminist and emotional geographies draw attention to how emotions are emergent in, and play a role in shaping, a broad range of social contexts and processes, while other literatures stress the need to ‘personalise’ the expert and consider the emotional aspects of planning. Inspired by these literatures we deploy the notion of ‘affective urbanism’ to study how emotions are interwoven with cultural policy spaces in the city and explore the ‘emotional regimes’ that incorporate emotions with the multi-scalar politics that is shaping urban cultural policy-making. This is undertaken through an analysis of emotions in the working lives and political contexts of cultural policy-makers in Stockholm (Sweden), Gdańsk (Poland) and Manchester (UK). Overall the paper seeks to develop a research agenda that places emotions centrally in studies of cultural policy formation and implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban cultural policy
• cultural policy-making
• emotions
• affective urbanism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Sure Start aimed to support the learning skills, health/wellbeing, and social and emotional development of children under four in disadvantaged areas. Established by the Labour government in 1998, funding was significantly cut by subsequent Conservative administrations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) [2015-00910].

Notes on contributors

Thomas Borén

Thomas Borén is Associate Professor of Human Geography and Chair of the Steering Committee for the interdisciplinary Urban and Regional Planning Programme at Stockholm University. His research interests are in the urban cultural geography of Europe with a focus on policies, strategies and the role of culture. He has written on policy mobilities, urban development and social sustainability, often with a focus on the relations between urban policy-makers, urban theory and cultural producers. More information: www.su.se/english/profiles/boren

Patrycja Grzyś

Patrycja Grzyś is a PhD-student at the Department of Regional and Human Geography, University of Łódź, Poland. Her main field of interest relates to contemporary transformations of the urban public spaces with the particular emphasis on the urban identity and image, the role of new stakeholders in creating urban spaces and the concept of place and place attachment. In her research, she examines the role of urban movements in transforming the space of post-industrial cities.

Craig Young

Craig Young is Professor of Human Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. His research interests include geographies of post-socialist transformation in East and Central Europe, focusing on urban change, the cultural politics of identity, and ‘creative city’ policy. The latter considers issues of policy mobilities but also focuses on how localities prepare themselves for engaging with globally mobile policy. He has written on creative policy making and creative producers in European contexts including the UK, Sweden and Poland. He is Editor-in-Chief of Eurasian Geography and Economics.