EXAMENSARBETE INOM SAMHÄLLSBYGGNAD, AVANCERAD NIVÅ, 30 HP STOCKHOLM, SVERIGE 2018 Hub Criativo do Beato- For whom by whom? A narrative study of global entrepreneurial and creative urban practices in the eastern riverside of Lisbon SOLVEIG LÖNNERVALL MICHAELA SUNDELL e: StartUp Lisboa, 2018 Lisboa, StartUp e: Imag KTH SKOLAN FÖR ARKITEKTUR OCH SAMHÄLLSBYGGNAD Abstract This thesis investigates the phenomenon of creative hubs in former industrial sites based upon the case study of Hub Criativo do Beato and its process of implementation in Lisbon, Portugal. The hub is explored in relation to political-cultural power embedded in the practice of globalism and public-private partnership. The empirical study represents a common case of creative hubs, but also indicates of a unique aspect of implementation as the decision-making process is shown to bypass the municipal planning department. Conflicting narratives between the rhetoric of the intermediary actor StartUp Lisboa and local concerned are analysed by given value-and-power questions of Flyvbjerg (2002) in relation to globalisation, the creative economy and neo- liberalisation. Data is collected through interviews with actors representing different perspectives and interest to the eastern riverside. Findings shows that globalisation is in the eye of the intermediary manager of the project as an opportunity to accumulate investments and knowledge for the city. The local economic practitioners portray an already ongoing entrepreneurial and global processes in the eastern riverside, and present opposed wishes for governmental involvement within the entrepreneurial and creative practice. The conclusion draws attention to the principal concern of the creative discourse taken for granted in practise. In this case, narratives show that Hub Criativo do Beato is carried out mainly for the city to compete on the global arena, without greater concern for the local context, which resulted in missing great opportunities to deal with urban challenges and local participation in the planning approach to the eastern riverside of Lisbon. Keywords: Creative economy, globalisation, neoliberalism, place marketing, public-private partnership, urban regeneration, industrial heritage, urban managerialism. Svensk sammanfattning Denna masteruppsats undersöker fenomenet o m kreativa hubbar i tidigare industriområden genom en fallstudie av beslutsprocessen av Hub Criativo do Beato och dess implementering i Lissabon, Portugal. Hub Criativo utforskars i förhållande till politiska och ekonomiska maktströmningar inom globalisering och offentlig-privat samverkan. Den empiriska studien representerar ett typiskt fall av en kreativ hubb, men indikerar också för en unik aspekt av implementeringen eftersom beslutsprocessen påvisats kringgå den kommunala stadsbyggnadsförvaltningen. Kontrasterande narrativ mellan ägare av retoriken, den icke- vinstdrivande mellanhanden StartUp Lisboa, och de berörda lokala aktörerna identifieras och analyseras utefter givna makt-och värderingsfrågor av Flyvbjerg (2002) i relation till globalisering, den kreativ ekonomin och neoliberalism. Data har samlats in genom intervjuer med aktörer som representerar olika perspektiv och spatiala intressen för utvecklingen av de östra vattennära stadsdelarna. Resultatet visar att förankringar till den globala arenan är den centrala kärnan för Hub Criativo do Beato, vilket ses som en strategi för att attrahera ekonomiskt kapital och kunskap till staden inom ramen för entreprenörskap. De lokala narrativen däremot porträtterar en redan pågående process inom entreprenörskap och globalisering i relation till ekonomiska praktiker i Lissabons östra stadsomvandling. Även påvisas motsättningar angående statligt engagemang och support för den kreativa ekonomin. Studien uppmärksammar tvivel angående implementering av den kreativa diskursen i praktiken utan att den har problematiserats i relation till de lokala förutsättningarna. Slutligen indikerar fallstudien att Hub Criativo do Beato planeras för att öka stadens konkurrens på ett globalt plan, snarare än att skapa en enklav för lokalsamhället. Retoriken och beslutsprocessen bakom Hub Criativo talar för ett missat tillfälle för politiker och planerare att bemöta urbana utmaningar tillsammans med lokalsamhället i Lissabons östra förnyelseprocess. Acknowledgement This thesis of 30 ECTS has been conducted during spring of 2018 as a final stage in the master program: Sustainable Urban Planning and Design, at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. We would like to express our deepest appreciation to our main supervisor Pernilla Hagbert, researcher at Urban and regional studies, KTH. Moreover, we would like to thank for the assistance and guidance in the Portuguese context given by our second supervisor Ana Morais de Sá, assistant professor at the department of Civil engineering, Architecture and Geo- resources, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon. Finally, a special thanks to the involved informants, friends and other for your time and narratives. Michaela Sundell & Solveig Lönnervall Stockholm, July 2018. Table of contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aim and research questions .......................................................................................................... 2 2. Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................................ 3 2.1. A creative hub in global and economic terms .............................................................................. 3 2.3 Neoliberal planning ....................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Urban development in the creative discourse ............................................................................... 7 2.5 Creative economy as a sustainable strategy? ................................................................................ 9 2.6 Theoretical summary and proposed contribution ........................................................................ 10 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Case study ................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Desk-based study ........................................................................................................................ 11 3.3 Site visits and participant observation ........................................................................................ 11 3.4 Interviews .................................................................................................................................... 13 3.5 Analytical approach .................................................................................................................... 15 3.6 Ethical considerations and research reflexivity........................................................................... 17 4. Political economic background of Lisbon, Portugal ......................................................................... 18 4.1 Towards a global market ............................................................................................................. 18 4.2 Neoliberal reformations and urban regeneration......................................................................... 19 4.3 Lisbon paving the way for a competitive creative economy ....................................................... 19 5. The planning case of Hub Criativo do Beato .................................................................................... 22 5.1 The context of the eastern riverside ............................................................................................ 22 5.2 Becoming Hub Criativo do Beato ............................................................................................... 27 6. Empirical insights and analysis ......................................................................................................... 30 6.1 Networking with or for the local community .............................................................................. 30 6.2 Trajectories behind the creative language ................................................................................... 32 6.3 ‘New and innovative’ or ‘old and perfunctory’ .......................................................................... 36 7. Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 38 7.1 The global vs. local attention ...................................................................................................... 38 7.2 Planning for whom by whom ...................................................................................................... 40 7.3 What should be done? ................................................................................................................. 41 8. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 44 9. References