Sounding board – Culture  a new framework for regional development

Rachel Kelnar and John Holden believe economic solutions invariably understate the importance of social and environmental factors in regional development, and that regional strategies should grow out of the cultural framework that gives communities their identity and purpose.

Regional economic strategies are currently the lynchpin of regional development and are critical in helping regions to identify priorities in the period ahead.(1) But this represents a risk: viewing regional development as substantially an economic issue results in the adoption of primarily economic solutions. This can be seen from the statutory purposes of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), which include promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness and enhance development and application of skills relevant to employment.

Too narrow a focus on economic solutions inevitably understates the importance of social and environmental factors in regional development. It assumes that economic success solves all other problems, and, conversely, fails to recognise the breadth of factors that underpin economic success. High-paying jobs and affordable housing are no longer sufficient to attract and retain individuals in an area; a cohesive community is fundamental (2) Economic development alone appears to be insufficient.

Many of the issues are complex and cannot readily be classified simply as an economic problem, a social difficulty or an environmental challenge. Cultural provision, environmental justice, local food sourcing and landscape quality, for example, are broad issues that can fail to receive the attention they deserve simply because they do not map easily onto an emaciated economic taxonomy. These important issues, and others like them, demand a framework that allows us to consider and address them appropriately.

A new cultural framework

Such a framework already exists; it is inherent in individuals cultural experiences and relationships. It is culture that underpins the human dimensions of development  and without this nothing else happens. By examining what individuals gain from participating in cultural experiences, we can see that culture provides people with meaning; culture serves as a magnet; culture allows individuals to engage; and culture encourages innovation.(3)

Culture provides meaning: When we talk about culture providing people with a sense of meaning, we are referring to cultures intrinsic value. This is well expressed by Tessa Jowell in her essay Government and the value of culture, when she writes that culture alone can give people the means better to understand and engage with life. Exposure to culture encourages us to question the elements to which we are exposed, promotes the development of our powers of criticism and encourages us to explore the world around us.

Culture serves as a magnet: Magnets and glue are pivotal for the development of successful cities. Essentially, magnets attract people to live and work in an area in the first place. Glue is what keeps them there.(4) But the magnets are changing: strong magnets used to be companies, preferably large ones, but their power of attraction is fading and to an increasing extent job opportunities are seen as a necessary, but insufficient, reason for migration. Powerful magnets today are open and diverse communities that embrace creativity in all its forms. Such communities encourage inclusion, the neutralisation of prejudice and the exploration of individuals diversity. The influx of artists to East London in the 1980s and 1990s, for example, had just this effect on the local community. We can start to view The Lowry, Salford, and The Sage Gateshead in a similar light: arguably, RDA goals were achieved on the path to cultural regeneration. Culture, therefore, is a powerful force in generating and sustaining such magnet communities.

Culture nurtures engagement: Involvement with culture encourages engagement within local communities. In his article Foresight and territorial dynamics, French futurist Michel Godet examines why only some of the many local initiatives started by governments and communities succeed. He identifies that everything depends on the ability of individuals and organisations to pool their energies in common projects rather than working against each other. Godet goes on to identify a virtuous cycle that can develop: from such an initiative activity and innovation are spurred on, which, in turn, creates employment, prompting the upgrading of skills and greater employability. In the context of engagement, too, cultural considerations are, therefore, vital. It is through the organisation of, and participation in, cultural activities that individuals pool their energies in common projects. These projects  community sports initiatives and local theatre groups  are the very incubators for social engagement that Godet identifies as critical for regional development.

Culture fuels innovation: As well as providing meaning, serving as a magnet and nurturing engagement, cultural investment in a community can fuel innovation  whose benefits in terms of regional development can be tangible and long-lasting. The Watershed in Bristol is a prime example. dShed, its online showcase of digital creativity, has fuelled innovation in local organisations, schools, universities, individuals and collectives. Similarly, it hosts the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts FutureLab, which is pioneering innovative new ways in which technology can alter the learning experience.

Thus, cultural interaction can help imbue in individuals the very qualities  meaning, tolerance, engagement and innovation  that decision-makers have thus far struggled to instil using exclusively economic strategies.

A fuller consideration of culture provides us not only with a modern language with which to discuss regional development but also the tools to achieve our goal. Rather than sweeping cultural considerations to the periphery of discussions about regional development, we should place them at the centre. With cultural considerations restored to their true place  at the heart of the debate  we can then focus on measuring and assessing appropriate investment for the long term. The debate around regional development would benefit from starting with the culture that gives individuals and communities their identity and purpose. It is only by so doing that we can ensure that the seeds of economic growth fall on fertile ground.

Rachel Kelnar is a Senior Consultant at Henley Centre Headlight Vision; John Holden is Head of Culture at Demos and author of Cultural value and the crisis of legitimacy, published in March 2006 by Demos.
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1. Guidance notes to Regional Development Agencies encourage them to formulate clear priorities for seeking to improve regional economic performance, and to identify strategies for achieving them. http://www.dti.gov.uk
2. See Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class, Basic Books, 2002
3. First identified by Andrew Curry, Henley Centre Headlight Vision in Beyond the economy: culture and the future of regional development, A Presentation to The Best Place to be Bristol, 15 September 2005
4. See Rosabeth Moss Kanter, World class, Free Press, 1997