Heerlen and Culture

Shrinkage and culture as a tool to counteract it Yvonne Rijpers & Mark Verhijde – January 2011 1. Creative economy ‘The creative economy’ has become a focus of local policies in ever more cities. Initially inspired by the widely acknowledged, and subsequently often criticized, theory of Richard Florida (2000), policy is developed to uplift certain areas or boost the local economy. Attracting the ‘creative class’ has become one of the vanguards of urban policy worldwide and the competition for the creative class has become an ever more global one. According to UNCTAD (2008), the creative economy (or: creative industries) is one of the most dynamic in the world and thus also considered to be of great opportunity for developing countries. Worldwide, (trans) national and local policy is made to uplift certain places or boost the economy (Zukin, 2010). However, Charles Landry (2007) argues there is no such thing as a recipe for city making. Berlin, for example, is often considered to be the #1 creative city in Europe. During a ‘talk of the town’ meeting in September 2010 in Amsterdam, representatives of Berlin were questioned on the success and fail factors in creating and advertising a cultural climate that draws so many creative people from all over the world adding to the thriving local atmosphere. Berlin’s ‘lessons’ appeared to be quite unsatisfying to the audience; representatives of Berlin’s local authority claim that Berlin’s success story is more coincidental, than a result of a consciously planned policy action. When exploring the local creative class in Berlin, it appears they often earn their money elsewhere, so not adding to the local economy. Moreover, policy aimed at attracting the international corporate representatives of the creative economy (around the Spree area for instance) is often also the death sentence for the creative entrepreneurs (pioneers) already there. Florida’s follow-up research on the creative class (2005) indicates the flight of creativity, fuelling the competition for this globally footloose creative class. He predicts a new global competition for talent, which will reshape the world in the coming decades; a competition revolving around the nation’s ability to mobilize, attract and retain human creative talent. Cities are challenged to obtain and perpetuate an eligible position in the global hierarchy to attract the creative class that is willing and able to travel and settle all over the world, such as the increasing number of Dutch architects relocating in China or dj/producers from all over the world to Berlin. Shrinkage and culture as a tool to counteract it - Yvonne Rijpers & Mark Verhijde (2011) p. 1 of 10 2. Creative economy – a must-have Since the creative economy is considered to be a catalyst for local economy, it is quite understandable every city wants a piece of the action. Attracting the creative class and boosting the creative economy has become an almost indispensable part of urban policy in the western world, with fierce competition among cities on a regional level, but also on a (trans) national one. Among these competitors are several shrinking cities, for instance Essen, Liverpool and Manchester. Essen and Liverpool have both been ‘cultural capital of Europe’ (Essen in 2010, Liverpool in 2008). This poses a couple of different questions we will look into. - Why do cities turn to culture / the creative economy as a tool in opposing shrinkage. - What are their strategies; how is ‘culture’ used as a tool in policy and what are the checks and balances involved? - How come shrinking cities assume they are able to take up competition with cities that seem to have a much better position in this? Do shrinking cities or shrinking regions stand a chance – and, if yes, why? Our article focuses on the issue of shrinkage and the strategy of shrinking cities to counteract this on different levels, especially culture and creative economy. On meta-level we will focus on culture and creative economy as a policy tool. However, we will use the case study of the Dutch city of Heerlen to be able to give more specific answers on our questions. Other shrinking cities are used as reference. According to Landry (2007), the more creative city has an overall atmosphere that projects vistas of chance encounter, possibility, can-do, surprise, the unexpected, the challenging and the clash of the ugly and the beautiful. This city also attends to the quintessentially ordinary (though increasingly extraordinary): affordable housing and ranges of housing choices at different prices; convenience stores selling basic products like bread and tea near to the urban core; flourishing neighbourhoods with strong identities; fast and frequent public transport; and gathering places and walkability. To make these possibilities come true requires civic creativity, because it involves using the regulations and incentives regime to bend the market logic to bigger goals. The vast number of shops in Paris only exists because they have been encouraged over time. (Landry, 2007) 3. Shrinking cities using culture as a tool After the textile industry withered and other business departed, Manchester has tried to put itself back on the map through cultural institutions and events. There is the Lowry Centre (theatre and art galleries); the Imperial War Museum North (designed by Daniel Libeskind); a bid to host the Olympic Games (2000) and the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Elsewhere in the city, derelict warehouses and other buildings that are left empty have been bought up and converted to offices and loft apartments. The music scene in Manchester flourished and also found room in empty buildings, in one of them the infamous club Hacienda was founded. Manchester became well known for its music scene, which helped shifting the negative image the city had. Along with the music scene, several urban cultures emerged and flourished. Shrinkage and culture as a tool to counteract it - Yvonne Rijpers & Mark Verhijde (2011) p. 2 of 10 Liverpool, geographically neighbouring Manchester, but historically in hefty competition with it, was well known as port city and thus the logistical centre for the industry in the neighbouring areas. It was a city with a vast majority of cheap, unskilled employment. When the port became less viable, it appeared difficult to compensate the employment loss this with other business, and in the mid- Eighties, the city was bankrupt. The European Union has been subsidizing Liverpool since the mid- Nineties and as well as Manchester, Liverpool has turned to cultural institutions as to catalyze the urban economy. There is a branch of the Tate Gallery; its own Biennial; and 2008, Liverpool was cultural capital of Europe in 2008. Essen, part of the Ruhr Valley, where cities have grown around Germany’s huge industrial settlements, has largely gone through the same development. Because Germany was better prepared for the transformation in the industries, the shift towards the service sector proved to be easier. However, Essen (and the rest of the Ruhr Valley) is still struggling with population loss. Large industrial plants have been reconverted in a heritage area with several museums, galleries, cafes and shops, and the Ruhr Valley as a whole was cultural capital in 2010. Shrinking cities clearly busy themselves with what Landry (2007) refers to as an emerging repertoire to use culture or arts in city development, recently broadened to include ‘creative quarters’ (usually refurbished old industrial buildings in inner city fringe areas) and attracting big events. Since these old industrial buildings, and space of any kind in that matter, is no problem and the need for economic regeneration is very much there, this seems to be a logical strategy. In the next section we discuss our case, the Dutch city of Heerlen, situated in the former mining area Parkstad Limburg. Heerlen used to be one of the wealthiest cities of the Netherlands, sinc it lies at the heart of the former Dutch mining area. Around 1965 this economic base diminished along with the associated industries. Heerlen characteristically shows many aspects of a shrinking city: after the closure of the Dutch coalmines it has seen massive loss of employment, migration of its working population and an ageing population left behind. Just recently, Heerlen has started to promote itself as a creative city. We examine the cultural profile of Heerlen and aim to compare this with other examples of shrinking cities that want to attract creative industry. Shrinkage and culture as a tool to counteract it - Yvonne Rijpers & Mark Verhijde (2011) p. 3 of 10 4. Heerlen, shrinkage and culture In this section we present data on demography, policy on culture and creative industry in Heerlen. 4.a. Demography The following facts are abstracted from the “key figures Heerlen 2009”. Demographically Heerlen is shrinking, as may be seen in table 1 below. We find fewer persons in categories 0-19 year and 20-44 year. The number of persons in categories 45-65+ is rising sharply. The total population has declined with 4664 persons in the periode 1990-2009. Age 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 % 2009 0-19 year 20801 20712 20315 19220 17372 19.4 % 20-44 year 38025 37570 34404 31449 28419 31.8 % 45-64 year 21398 22662 24323 25638 26792 30 % 65 + year 13825 15270 15966 16278 16802 18.8 % Total 94049 96214 95144 92585 89385 100 % Figure 1 – Heerlen population development 1990-2009 The population structure regarding native/immigrant persons in 2009 is presented in table 2. Residents in Heerlen are mainly native and western immigrants; only 7.7% are non-western immigrants. Other Non Dutch German Belgium western western 72.5% 10.3% 1.4% 8% 7,7% Figure 2 – Heerlen population on natives/immigrants The local workforce consists of 60201 persons in 2009.

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