Sport in the City : Cultural Connections

Sport is seen as an increasingly important dimension of civic planning programmes and has moved to the forefront of agendas for cities of the present and future. This has occurred as the barriers between so-called high and popular culture continue to disintegrate. Sport is no longer viewed in fundamentally oppositional terms to the arts but as an important dimension in plans for the cultural regeneration of cities. Urban regeneration through cultural means has moved steadily onto civic planning agendas in western nations since the 1980s, culture thus taking on increasing responsibility for the economic renewal of cities. Urban economic regeneration is most visible in the commercial rejuvenation of rundown city quarters where trendy bars and coffee houses have replaced shabby shop-fronts and taken over formerly grand buildings such as banks and even churches. More traditional cultural sites such as art galleries and museums have also undergone refurbishment construction in some cases and entered the commercial fray with the gift-shop becoming an integral part of the gallery visit as a cultural experience. This book examines sport within contexts of urban regeneration and looks at the place of sport within planning agendas for cities of culture. Relatedly, the role of sport stadiums in city re-imaging is addressed in regard to such matters as public funding, environmental impact and urban infrastructure.This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in SocietySam, Michael is the author of 'Sport in the City : Cultural Connections', published 2011 under ISBN 9780415466561 and ISBN 0415466563.