Cultural analyses in urban theory of the 1990s

In the 1990s, cultural analyses have become an integrated part of urban the ory, and culture is often seen as an important factor in the interpretation of both the structural changes of society and the multiplicity of life for ms. But culture is not only used as a means to understand actual changes; e qually often it is used as a tool to create changes. Under the headings of culture and space, culture and place, and culture and urban policy, the art icle presents a general view of recent urban theoretical attempts to grasp the role of culture, first in a global, secondly in a local and thirdly in an urban political perspective. The analyses of culture and space focus on the central role of culture and the cultural industries in the reconstructi on of the economy, which took place after the economic recession in the 197 0s. The spatial consequences of this reconstruction are discussed in terms of globalization, polarization and hierarchization. The analyses of culture and place strive to increase the knowledge of how the structural changes h ave affected the built environment and the social and cultural life of the city. The consequences are often discussed in terms of gentrification, aest hetization and privatization of public space. Special attention is paid to the growing social polarization and segregation. The analyses of culture an d urban policy focus on the role of culture in the effort to strengthen the competitiveness of the city. Two different strategies are discussed, an in strumental one which directly aims at economic growth, and an integrative o ne where the goal is to restore the cultural hegemony.