Parallel Session 6: Public culture and urban planning

Report: Marcel Belliot (Federation Nationale des Agences d’Urbanisme, France - member of the PIWP)

Abstract
Whether or how cities can transform themselves through culture?
The example of Rotterdam as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2001 is an obvious one. The practice of urban design and planning was also discussed using two Rotterdam projects as illustrations: the river front and the renewal of the city centre.
One conclusion was that all cities are influenced by the process of globalisation. In the competition that results from this process culture is an important tool. The motto 'think global, act local' belongs to this globalisation process. Cultural projects are difficult because they confront a city with the question of what it actually is - but for that reason they are productive. The transformation of cities through culture is a complicated and protracted process that requires a specific methodology.
Culture is a good marketing tool but it is more than only marketing. Culture provides the tools to transform the city and to mobilise the population.