This paper examines the role of culture in shaping and contesting city branding strategies. Throughout world, private public sectors are jointly engaged cities by mobilising a cultural rhetoric with aim attracting business, boosting tourism revitalising urban spaces. Adopting critical sociological perspective, whether or not culture-based brings benefits to community organisations explores reasons why this might be case. Based on experience Buenos Aires drawing in-depth interviews both...

In this introduction to the special issue ‘Transcending (in)formal urbanism’ we outline important place that informal urbanism has acquired in urban theorising, and an agenda further standing towards even more explicit role defining how research cities. We note informality frequently been perceived as formal’s ‘other’ implying a necessary ‘othering’ of creates dualisms between formal informal, localised globalising formal, or resistance neoliberal control, seeks challenge. The introduction,...

In recent years the rise of culture as a universal cure to myriad urban, social and economic 'diseases' has been celebrated without precedent, both in policy academic accounts. Unlike these celebratory discourses, this paper provides critique politics underpinning culture-led urban regeneration order unsettle role panacea. Drawing on case study – on-going redevelopment post office palace into commemorative cultural centre Buenos Aires, Argentina analysis offers an in-depth account process by...

This article provides an epistemological critique of informality by focusing on cultural governance in two cities the global South, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Dakar, Senegal. Aiming to enrich debates about urban creativity policy, which are still mainly focused articulated from North, we consider broad field ‘informality’ research as entry point for such a discussion. Using case studies African Latin American contexts, focus interstices policy borderlands (in)formality, examining how...

Before COVID-19, the cultural sector was already in crisis – suffering from precarious labour conditions, intersectional inequalities and insufficient public funding. During pandemic, performing artists, particularly self-employed, were hit hardest due to difficulties of adapting their work digital audiences, fragile unstable economic situation, limited financial support available them. This article examines a sociological standpoint how pandemic has affected artists London Buenos Aires. We...

In the last decade, new policy initiatives emerged in Latin America as a response to rise of ‘creative turn’ global North. This article examines impact such turn on urban cultural policies for informal settlements Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, focusing case ‘Favela Criativa’ – governmental programme support young people’s and creative work across favelas. The analysis reveals that has effectively widened visibility favelas’ work, increased financial public developed practical strategies working...

En este artículo analizamos las experiencias de la pandemia trabajadores/as independientes en artes escénicas (música, teatro, ópera, danza y circo). A través una investigación cualitativa con 73 artistas Londres Buenos Aires, examinamos problemas torno a condiciones laborales, relación nuevas tecnologías, el futuro del sector demandas para políticas culturales postpandemia. La perspectiva comparativa permitió ver que naturaleza precaria trabajo cultural se vivió, muchos aspectos, manera...

Following from a public lecture at City University London, the articles discuss interface between creativity, urban transformation, precariousness and social networking. This introduction places within framework of North–South academic exchanges in relation to how Latin American cities are responding rise creative economy policy development. The main article, written by Néstor García Canclini, provides foundation for an anthropology creativity context globalised discontent transformation...

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<p>En los últimos años el rol de la cultura como remedio universal para ‘malestares’ urbanos, sociales y económicos ha sido celebrado sin precedentes, tanto en discursos académicos las políticas públicas. A diferencia estas narrativas celebratorias, presente artículo formula una crítica política que sostiene a proyectos regeneración urbana través fin desestabilizar función panacea. Utilizando un estudio caso – conversión del Palacio Correos Telecomunicaciones centro cultural...