Speaker
Description
The transformation of underused industrial sites into vibrant public spaces is a growing challenge in contemporary urban planning. While traditional regeneration approaches often prioritize physical rehabilitation, this study introduces chrono-urbanism and music as dynamic triggers for reactivating industrial sites as inclusive, dynamic public spaces. Chrono-urbanism emphasizes the temporal rhythms of urban life, ensuring that regenerated sites evolve in sync with social, cultural, and economic cycles (Mulíček et al., 2015; 2016). When combined with music and cultural programming, this approach fosters long-term engagement, flexibility, and inclusivity in urban public spaces (Bolderman, 2024; Ballico & Carter, 2021).
Building upon research from the EU-funded ReCITYing Creative Europe project, this study analyses ten European case studies where industrial spaces were reactivated through music-driven public engagement. The selected cases include MeetFactory (Prague, Czech Republic), Friche Belle de Mai (Marseille, France), Bergson Kunstkraftwerk (Munich, Germany), Kulturwerft Gollan (Lübeck, Germany), Axis Music Studio (London, UK), Le Quartier Libre (Rouen, France), Opera Eiffel Art Studio (Budapest, Hungary), Edelfettwerk (Hamburg, Germany), Park Spoor Noord (Antwerp, Belgium), and WUK Gunpowder Depot (Belgrade, Serbia). The findings demonstrate that these spaces successfully transitioned from neglected industrial voids into multifunctional cultural hubs, adapting to diverse user needs across different timeframes. Strategies such as event layering, temporal accessibility, and participatory cultural programming played key roles in ensuring their sustainability (Plevoets & Sowinska-Heim, 2018; Oevermann & Mieg, 2021).
The study also addresses the challenges of gentrification, governance, and policy frameworks, highlighting the role of social innovation and community-led initiatives in sustaining these new public spaces (Gravagnuolo et al., 2021; Scaffidi, 2024; Scaffidi et al., 2024). The results offer valuable insights for urban planners, policymakers, and cultural practitioners seeking to integrate temporal urbanism into underutilised sites and heritage regeneration. Additionally, this work expands upon findings from a forthcoming publication in Cities Journal (Scaffidi et al., 2025), reinforcing the potential of chrono-urbanist principles and music-led regeneration in shaping the future of public space.
This contribution invites discussions on how post-industrial spaces can be strategically reclaimed as dynamic public spaces, bridging urban history, contemporary culture, and social sustainability (Allam et al., 2023a; Moreno et al., 2021).
References
Allam, Z. et Al (2023). Proximity-based planning and the “15-Minute City”: A sustainable model for the city of the future. In R. Brinkmann (Ed.), The Palgrave handbook. Palgrave.
Ballico, C., & Carter, D. (2021). Music cities, or cities of music? In C. Anderton & S. Pisfil (Eds.), Researching Live Music: Gigs, Tours, Concerts and Festivals. Routledge.
Bolderman, L. (2024). The hidden music city. In S. Guillard, et Al. (Eds.), New Geographies of Music 2: Geographies of Media. Palgrave Macmillan.
Gravagnuolo, A. et Al. (2021). Adaptive re-use of urban cultural resources. City, Culture and Society, 26,
Mulíček, O. et Al. (2015). Urban rhythms: A chronotopic approach to urban timespace. Time & Society, 24(3), 304-325.
Oevermann, H., & Mieg, H. (2021). Urban development planning and world cultural heritage. Planning Practice and Research, 36(4), 430–441.
Plevoets, B., & Sowinska-Heim, J. (2018). Community initiatives as a catalyst for regeneration of heritage sites. Cities, 78, 128–139.
Scaffidi, F. (2024). Average social and territorial innovation impacts of industrial heritage regeneration. Cities, 148, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.104907
Scaffidi, F., Micelli E. Nash M. (2024). The role of the social entrepreneur for sustainable heritage-led urban regeneration. Cities, 158, 105670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105670
| Keywords | Music and Public space, ReCITYing, Chrono-urbanism, Industrial Sites Regeneration |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
