THE ROLE of ARTS and CULTURE in MODERN CITIES: Making Art Work in Toronto and New York by Shoshanah Barbara Diane Goldberg Abstr
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THE ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN MODERN CITIES: Making Art Work in Toronto and New York by Shoshanah Barbara Diane Goldberg Abstract Cities throughout the world currently are exploring ways that arts and culture can serve as an economic engine, build name recognition and become a source of civic pride through a mix of policy, branding, and economic development. I examine the relationship between cultural policy and the increased presence of arts and culture on the economic development agenda in Toronto and New York during the decade of the 2000s. I hypothesize that New York is more driven by economic motivations, and that Toronto’s interest lies in the brand building aspect of arts and culture in city building. This dissertation is a comparative case study that investigates the increased presence of arts and culture in the economic development toolkits of Toronto and New York over the decade. Archival and historical data, in addition to interviews with elite actors provide a rich cache with which to answer the thesis question. Through the use of agenda setting theory, I find ways that arts and culture have been integrated into policy- making and urban planning for economic development in each city. I observe that Toronto and New York are building and facilitating cultural districts, attracting and retaining creative workers, and articulating economic arguments for arts and culture in order to generate revenues and secure government and private support. Each city underwent a shock during the early part of the decade. For Toronto, it was the endogenous shock of amalgamation, and for New York the exogenous shock of 9/11. In both cities, arts and culture were employed as a part of the economic development toolkit to revitalize decaying areas, attract residents and tourists, and distinguish themselves from other cities. I find that each urban center used arts and culture extensively to create a cultural city in the case of Toronto, and to recreate a cultural city in the case of New York. Policy recommendations include utilizing research and strategic planning, building relationships and stakeholder partnerships across policy domains and sectors, and focusing both on public good and economic benefit when integrating arts and culture into economic development interventions. THE ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN MODERN CITIES: Making Art Work in Toronto and New York by Shoshanah Barbara Diane Goldberg December 2011 Submitted to The New School for Public Engagement of The New School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee: Dr. Peter Eisinger, Chair Dr. Ted Magder Dr. Aida Rodriguez Dr. Vera Zolberg UMI Number: 3495821 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3495821 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 Dedicated to my father Theodore (Ted) Goldberg, Ph.D. My greatest inspiration May his memory be for a blessing ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are a number of people to whom I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness. First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor and chair of my dissertation committee, Dr. Peter Eisinger. His careful guidance and significant investment of time and energy was crucial in my developing and refining this dissertation, and I appreciate his clear and thorough direction. I extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to the members of my committee, Dr. Ted Magder, Dr. Aida Rodriguez and Dr. Vera Zolberg. I especially wish to acknowledge Dr. Rodriguez for her ongoing advice and support, and I am forever grateful for her guidance. I should like to indicate my extraordinary appreciation to The Rockefeller Foundation for their generous funding for this dissertation research, and especially to Edwin Torres for believing in my work and being a wonderful advocate for me. Special thanks go to Dr. David Howell for his encouragement and inspiration. I am sure that Dr. Robert Beauregard, Dr. Edwin Melendez, Dr. Rachel Meltzer, and Dr. L. Jay Oliva know how grateful I am for their help and advice, but I wish to express it here in a more formal way. I was most fortunate in receiving the kind assistance and advice of Dr. Kevin Stolarick of The Martin Prosperity Institute in Toronto. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the members of my research team, Mary Rocco, Aaron Hill, and especially Johanna Range, all of who were wonderful iii colleagues and worked tirelessly towards the successful completion of this investigation. I feel I should express my thanks to the numerous individuals interviewed in the course of this research, both for their participation and their interest and enthusiasm regarding the area under investigation. This also applies to a number of people in New York and Toronto who assisted me in securing respondents as well as in uncovering important historical and archival materials. I was most fortunate to have the advice and support of my friend, Lynn E. Darkow and my cousin, Dr. Susan Sheps Margulies, to whom I would like to express my gratitude. To my sister Toby, brother-in-law George Leong, and nephew Jacob Leong, I owe a special note of thankfulness. And to my mother, Grace Safeer Goldberg, who was a wonderful support throughout this endeavor, I give my sincere appreciation. Finally, but with never-ending devotion, I express my thanks to my fiancé, John Miller, without whose presence and encouragement no undertaking on my part would be possible or worthwhile. This dissertation was funded by a generous grant from The Rockefeller Foundation. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xvii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 1 Agenda Setting and the Cultural City ........................................................................... 2 Dissertation Overview .................................................................................................. 6 Contribution to the Literature ..................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER II THE CREATIVE CITIES CONVERSATION ......................................... 15 Introduction................................................................................................................. 15 The Meaning of “Arts & Culture” .............................................................................. 16 Arts and Culture in the City........................................................................................ 18 Economic Development Using Arts and Culture........................................................ 20 Cultural Districts in Urban Planning........................................................................... 25 Commodification of Culture....................................................................................... 28 Consumption and Production of Culture and Agglomeration of Artists .................... 30 Benefits of Cultural Capital – Impact on Development on Local Levels................... 32 Quantifying To What Extent: Measuring Economic Impact ...................................... 34 The Economics of Arts & Culture and Economic Justification for State Support ..... 35 Policy and Planning; Implementing Cultural Policy .................................................. 41 v Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................... 46 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 46 Introduction................................................................................................................. 46 Research Design for this Dissertation......................................................................... 46 Research question and choice of method...............................................................47 Understanding case study methodology. ...............................................................48 Choosing the research method...............................................................................50 Case selection.........................................................................................................52 Main Methods of Data Collection: Archival Research and Elite Interviews.............. 54 Archival and historical research.............................................................................54 Elite interviews ......................................................................................................54