Revitalização cultural urbana “de cima para baixo” – Bens culturais escondidos e a reabilitação da antiga Fábrica Rog

• Main Author: Matjaž Uršič
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra 2012-12-01
• Series: Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais
• Subjects: cultural economy; cultural policy; Ljubljana (Slovenia); urban planning; urban regeneration
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/rccs/5143

Cultural‑led renovation projects are often directed toward the formation of new art facilities, services, products and urban settings based on which the city could become distinctively different and economically profitable. However, often during the course of urban redevelopment, it is not completely clear which renovation strategy is to be used and what consequences will that have for the neighbourhood, its social structure and local community. In some cases, it is possible to speculate that renovation may lead to diminishment in cultural heterogeneity and obstruct wider socio‑cultural revitalisation processes in the city. This article offers critical insight into the planning processes for cultural revitalisation that is based on a ‘top‑down’ approach. More specifically, it examines the renovation project of a former bicycle factory (Rog) situated in the centre of Ljubljana and planned to be renovated into the Centre of Contemporary Arts. By taking into account the social, economic and architectural characteristics of the local environment in which the specific renovation project is embedded, the article stresses the importance of ‘bottom up’ cultural planning that relies on greater inclusion of various local population groups.