Description of Larry Beasley's talk (full):
Love as the prime force in the economy of cities: an urban competition and sustainability framework for civic arts and culture
Who would have thought in the last generation that “love” might become a key force in the economy of cities, much less a prime force? Yet, over the last decade, two epochal urban challenges – competitive and environmental – have come together that cities can only respond to if their citizens are solidly on their side. Responding to these challenges will take new kinds of urban settlements that confound conventional preferences. If consumers don’t like what they see, they will not choose these settlements as consumers nor allow them as voters. Facing these challenges, Larry Beasley will speak to the imperative of a new approach to city building that he calls “experiential planning”. This involves understanding and delivering cityscapes that people will truly desire and fall in love with and prefer over unsustainable forms. He will outline what he sees as the basic dimensions of the sustainable and humane city, arguing that the pivotal missing component in city building over the past century has been “placemaking”. Placemaking provides the link between urban excellence, economic development and sustainability. Beasley will argue that arts and cultural efforts are essential for placemaking in the harsh contemporary city and he will cover some common pitfalls that limit the effectiveness of these programs; pitfalls related to the building of new arts institutions, facilitation of public art, sponsorship of cultural and community programming and preservation of historic buildings. His presentation provides the conceptual framework through which arts and cultural programs and initiatives can be understood as pivotal for economic development and sustainability. Beasley dreams of the kind of comfortable, engaging, grounded and gloriously beautiful places that will naturally draw peoples’ interest, their commitment and their love. He challenges cultural planners and the arts community to come to the fore in this struggle to garner civic affection because he believes they can provide the missing ingredient in the formula of liveable cities. He concludes that “love” may be the spiritual equity that makes all the difference toward success or failure in the survival and robustness of our cities in the future.
This Keynote address is sponsored by the Planning, Property & Development Department, City of Winnipeg
