land Article Social Perception and Urbanscape Identity of Flagship Cultural Developments in Szczecin (in the Re-Urbanization Context) Eliza Sochacka * and Magdalena Rzeszotarska-Pałka Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Environmental Management and Agriculture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, 71-434 Szczecin, Poland; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +48-662-014-690 Abstract: A growing number of urban interventions, such as culture-led regeneration strategies, has emerged alongside growing awareness of the concept of re-urbanization. These interventions evolve to create a holistic urban vision, with aims to promote social cohesion and strengthen local identity as opposed to traditional goals of measuring the economic impact of new cultural developments. Szczecin’s, Poland urban strategy is focused on the expansion of culture—a condition for improving the quality of life and increasing the city’s attractiveness. This article assesses the potential for re-urbanization of Szczecin’s flagship cultural developments. Questionnaire surveys and qualitative research methods were used to assess the characteristics that distinguish cultural projects in the formal, location-related, functional, and symbolic layers, as well as examining their social perception. The results show that the strength of these indicators of urbanscape identity affects how the cultural developments are assessed by the society. Semiotic coherence and functional complexity of the structures have a significant impact on the sense of identification, while their monumentality and exposure contribute to the assessment of the impact on their surroundings. A development with a firm identity, embedded in the city’s tradition not only preserves the cultural heritage of the city but Citation: Sochacka, E.; also makes inhabitants feel association with the new project. Rzeszotarska-Pałka, M. Social Perception and Urbanscape Identity Keywords: social perception; culture-led strategy; flagship cultural developments; re-urbanization; of Flagship Cultural Developments in urbanscape identity; quality of urban life; cultural heritage enhancement; qualitative analysis Szczecin (in the Re-Urbanization Context). Land 2021, 10, 398. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10040398 Academic Editor: Michael U. Hensel 1. Introduction 1.1. Context of the Study Received: 11 March 2021 Identified in urban areas of highly developed countries since 1960s, degradation and Accepted: 8 April 2021 depreciation of city centers have forced a comprehensive and thorough approach not only Published: 10 April 2021 to changes of the city image, but also the transformation of the city’s functioning concept, especially that industry and manufacturing have ceased to be the main driver for urban Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral development. It seems that the concept of re-urbanization has played a major role in with regard to jurisdictional claims in the long-term urban transforman. Since its establishing in the early 1980s as a part of published maps and institutional affil- Leo Klassen’s cyclical urban development model, the concept has defined directions and iations. relations of demographic changes from a city and region point of view, while taking into consideration their social, economic, and urban contexts. The concept of re-urbanization has shed new light on issues pertaining to city centers and added broader, structural, and interdisciplinary perspective to urban policies. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. During the same period, culture started to play an increasingly important role. It Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. was perceived as a means to improve and remodel the industrial image of a city. It was This article is an open access article also seen as a driver for city’s economic growth by boosting consumption and a starting distributed under the terms and point for physical renovation of core city centers [1,2]. Thus, culture has become a part conditions of the Creative Commons of urban policies based on flagship projects implemented in city centers. These projects Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// were designed as catalyzers for the regeneration of degraded centers and magnets for new creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ developments [3]. In 1997, the success of Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao by star architect 4.0/). Land 2021, 10, 398. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10040398 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/land Land 2021, 10, 398 2 of 29 Frank Gerry contributed much to the idea of the culture-led regeneration. The “Cinderella transformation”, as referred to by Giovannini (following Klingmann) [4] (p. 238), well reflects its scale and impact on the city. As noted by Alaily-Mattar et al. [5] (p. 169), since the opening of the facility “the idea that architecturally exceptional signature buildings can play a decisive role in urban regeneration and urban competitiveness has received substantial coverage in the academic as well as the mainstream media”. According to Miles and Paddison [6] (p. 833), “the idea that culture can be employed as a driver for urban economic growth has become part of the new orthodoxy by which cities seek to enhance their competitive position.” Analyses and criticism of culture-led strategies helped to revise and re-evaluate their goals and expected effects while emphasizing the sense of community, local identity and sense of place. Contemporary culture-led strategies evolve towards a holistic vision which departs from measuring economic effects of culture infrastructure development and focus on social cohesion and strengthened cultural identity of a city. The question of social approval to flagship cultural projects has become increasingly important if we consider consequences of re-urbanization strategies. The same applies to the scope and use of local cultural heritage, place identity, and existing contexts of these projects. It is important to determine whether projects, designed to enhance quality of life, actually use and strengthen endogenic urban resources, both cultural (material and symbolic) and social in the sense of their territorial identity. When analyzing the effectiveness of the re-urbanization strategy, it is worth asking whether the flagship cultural projects completed do use and reinforce the existing cultural resources of the city and its social potential. The question is whether they continue to the history and the specific nature of a place or respect the existing context. On the other hand, it is worth checking how residents perceive the projects, whether projects reinforce their sense of belonging, or whether they make people feel proud? Do the dwellers know the developments, do they identify with the structures and do they think the structures are important to improving the city’s image? These questions were asked by the author in conducting this study. 1.2. Research Scope and Objectives In 2014, the Marshal of the Western Pomerania Province, Olgierd Geblewicz solemnly opened the Small Theatre in the center of the city of Szczecin, where he uttered these important words: “I believe that culture has an influence on the regeneration of space.” An attempt to verify this act of faith is a scientific challenge. Assuming that the flagship cultural structures are catalyzing the renewal and revival of the city, there is the endogenic impact associated with the quality of residents’ life and the exogenic impact associated with the image and the economic condition of the city [7]. The locational, spatial, functional and semiotic characteristics of the projects completed determine the two areas of impact of cultural developments on the re-urbanization. The Szczecin Development Strategy, which encompasses features of a re-urbanization model, puts much emphasis on the expansion of culture as a precondition for improved quality of life and enhanced attractiveness of the city. The document implements the vision of Floating Garden 2050, a branding project, which focuses on the transformation of the post-industrial image of the city [8]. Since its launch in 2008, the city has initiated the construction of eleven large public culture projects. Nine of them are covered by this study. The study compares the social assessment of cultural facilities and their features that determine their symbolic, spatial, local, and functional qualities, with special emphasis on the integration of a place-based identity as their endogenic potential. The purpose of this article is to assess the potential for re-urbanization of the flag- ship cultural developments in Szczecin, understood as the elements of culture-led re- urbanization strategy, in terms of the use of endogenous sources of identity and the impact of these developments on the population. This study evaluates several important aspects about the effects of current urban policy in Szczecin. First, it assesses the locational, spatial, Land 2021, 10, 398 3 of 28 Land 2021, 10, 398 3 of 29 impact of these developments on the population. This study evaluates several important aspects about the effects of current urban policy in Szczecin. First, it assesses the locational, spatial, and functional characteristics of the flagship cultural developments in Szczecin.and functional Secondly, characteristics it examines the of thespeci flagshipal use of cultural local cultural developments heritage in and Szczecin. the identity Secondly, of ait place, examines including the special the usesource of local and cultural the strength heritage of and the the symbols identity of of developments