Our Tyne': Iconic Regeneration and the Revitalisation of Identity in NewcastleGateshead
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Urban Studies, Vol. 42, Nos 5/6, 913– 926, May 2005
‘Our Tyne’: Iconic Regeneration and the
Revitalisation of Identity in NewcastleGateshead
Steven Miles
[Paper first received, September 2004; in final form, December 2004]
Summary. The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps most
notable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determined
as much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the case
of NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits of
culture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside is
founded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is,
if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regeneration
projects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-called
post-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projects
depends above all upon people’s sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-
led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, whilst balancing achievements of the
past with ambitions for the future.
The de-industrialisation of cities has created a radically rearticulating the meaning of place
set of circumstances in which policy-makers and space in a so-called post-industrial
throughout Europe and beyond have despe- world. As Hunt points out
rately sought to explore the possibilities for
The architectural critic Jonathon Glancey
a post-industrial future. For many such
suggested that Victorian cities had created
cities, cultural investment in capital-intensive
an urban culture on the back of their trade
projects which make radical statements about
and industry, but today it is the other way
where a city’s future might lay, offer a prom-
around. Instead of culture springing from
ised land, but one that is ultimately often
the inner workings of our cities, we see it
unrealisable. The development of Newcastle-
as the way to make our cities work (Hunt,
Gateshead offers an example of an iconic
2004, p. 350).
culture-led project that appears, at least on
the surface, to be succeeding. But can invest- In what follows, it will be suggested that the
ment in iconic projects deliver what policy- success of investment in iconic cultural pro-
makers ask of them? More pointedly jects depends above all upon people’s sense
perhaps, at what level, if at all, do such pro- of belonging in a place and the degree to
jects engage with the identity of a city and which culture-led regeneration can engage
its people? with that sense of belonging, whilst balancing
This article will address the impact of flag- achievements of the past with ambitions for
ship regeneration projects and their role in the future.
Steven Miles is in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work Studies, University of Liverpool, Eleanor Rathbone
Building, Bedford Street South, Liverpool, L69 72A, UK. Fax: 0151 794 2997. E-mail: s.miles@liverpool.ac.uk. The author wishes to
acknowledge the insights and comments provided by Professor Christopher Bailey and Peter Stark.
0042-0980 Print=1360-063X Online=05=05-60913 –14 # 2005 The Editors of Urban Studies
DOI: 10.1080=00420980500107326914 STEVEN MILES
Context Regardless of the demise of the Fourth Grace,
the optimistic tone here is a telling reflection
The impact of iconic developments on the
of how those involved in the production
re-emergence of deindustrialised commu-
of iconic cultural developments tend to per-
nities is a matter of continued policy debate.
ceive such projects. But it remains unclear
John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister has
how far the realities of urban regeneration
suggested that
can match up to the expectations both the
There’s a quiet revolution taking place in Arts fraternity and policy-makers have of cul-
our leading cities. Places that were once tural investment on this kind of scale.
the engine room of the industrial revolu- In recent years, the world’s waterfronts
tion, employing millions in mills, factories, have provided a particular focus for culture-
ports and shipyards, are learning new ways led regeneration. Marshall (2001, p. 3)
to create wealth in a global economy where describes the waterfront as space “in the city
brain has replaced brawn (DCMS, 2004, which allows expressions of hope for urban
p. 12). vitality”. He goes on to point out that in
cities such as London, New York, Vancouver,
But there is undoubtedly a danger in assuming
Sydney and San Francisco waterfronts have
that cultural investment can provide some
historically been the staging-points for the
kind of an alternative future for all deindus-
import and export of goods, but that this is
trialised cities. This reflects a broader debate
no longer the case in our information-satu-
in which commentators such as Richard
rated, service-oriented economies
Florida have suggested that creativity has an
increasingly significant role to play in the These waterfront redevelopment projects
social and economic development of our speak to our future, and to our past. They
cities and that speak to a past based in industrial pro-
duction, to a time of tremendous growth
regional economic growth is driven by the
and expansion, to social and economic
location choices of creative people—the
structures that no longer exist. . . .
holders of creative capital—who prefer
Through historical circumstance, these
places that are diverse, tolerant and open
sites are immediately adjacent to centers
to new ideas (Florida, 2002, p. 223).
of older cities, and typically are separated
From this point of view, quality of place has from the physical, cultural and physiologi-
overtaken quality of life as the factor in deter- cal connections that exist in every city.
mining why creative people live where they They speak to a future by providing oppor-
live. The suggestion might therefore be that tunities for cities to reconnect with the
iconic projects provide tangible evidence of water’s edge (Marshall, 2001, p. 5).
the quality of place. They are, in effect,
Much of the debate around the significance of
symbols of a place in which creative people
iconic projects of this kind are tied up with
can feel they will belong. This certainly
concerns as to whether or not such investment
appears to be the feeling surrounding Liver-
can effectively ameliorate the consequences
pool, recently awarded ‘Capital of Culture
of deindustrialisation. In this context,
2008’ with Egbert Kossak, one of Europe’s
McGuigan (1996) identifies a series of urban
leading regeneration experts, commenting that
regeneration schemes frequently led by flag-
The Fourth Grace will do for Liverpool ship cultural projects during the 1980s in
what the Opera House has done for cities such as Baltimore and later, in the UK,
Sydney. Liverpool has won praise from Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Cardiff
around the world for preserving its histori- (see Cowell and Thomas, 2002; Bassett
cal buildings. The time is right for a new, et al., 2002). The problem with these sorts
iconic building which will represent the of developments, according to McGuigan is
future (Liverpool, 2004, p. 1). that they actually‘OUR TYNE’ 915
articulate the interests and tastes of the 2001’ Balsas (2004) concludes that too
postmodern professional and managerial much emphasis was put on attracting public
class without solving the problems of a investment to regenerate public space, repla-
diminishing production base, growing cing infrastructures and modernising cultural
disparities of wealth and opportunity, and facilities, but at the expense of more funda-
the multiple forms of social exclusion mental institutional capacity building and
(McGuigan, 1996, p. 99). civic creativity.
Sharon Zukin (1991), meanwhile, refers to
‘quixotic’ urban renewal projects that simply Communities of Culture?
remain unproven as far as their economic The development of cities such as Bilbao and
benefits might be concerned. Miles and Porto represents both a localisation of global
Miles point out that new cultural institutions and economic social forces and a location in
such as Tate Modern, the Guggenheim in a world capitalist order as Zukin (1991)
Bilbao and Barcelona’s Museum of Contem- points out. The success of such developments
porary Art play a prime role as facilitators of is perhaps dependent upon the degree to which
cultural display, but perhaps more problemati- the reinvention of the urban landscape fits in
cally, as signs of urban affluence with, rather than being foisted upon, the iden-
Flagship cultural institutions, frequently tity of the place concerned. For this reason, the
financed as public sector investments to notion of community is crucial. Authors such
attract private-sector renovation of the sur- as Harvey (1990) have described how the
rounding area, tend to be engines not of post-modern condition has led to the ‘end of
democratisation of culture but of gentrifica- community’, while Delanty (2003) highlights
tion . . . This is not all bad, in that run-down the role of the global city in displacing
areas can be transformed, but it may dis- urban communities. It could be argued that
place a residual population unless it is ade- in a global age cultural investment can at
quately protected, and establishes a least potentially provide a means of revitalis-
connection . . . between cultural space and ing communities by providing them with a
wealth accumulation (Miles and Miles, new so-called post-industrial future that can
2004, p. 53). help them readjust to the new economic con-
ditions in which they find themselves. As
The social impacts of culture-led regeneration Delanty suggests
are not necessarily always positive. Even in
Community is communicative in the sense
those circumstances where positive impacts
of being formed in collective action based
are assumed, causality is always uncertain.
on place, and is not merely an expression
In this context, Vegara (2001) refers to the
of an underlying cultural identity
“miracle of Bilbao” in a necessarily tentative
(Delanty, 2003, p. 71).
fashion. Back in 2001 the industrial decline
of Bilbao was undoubted, but Vegara could From this point of view, local identities are
only at this time go far enough to predict con- socially constructed rather than just being
fidently that the conditions were such that identified with a locality simply because it
Bilbao “could” arise form the ruins of its happens to be there.
industrial past, not least as a result of the But culture-led regeneration will not auto-
impact of the Guggenheim Museum. The matically engage with local communities.
broader sociological impact of cultural invest- An alternative interpretation would indeed
ment on this scale remains intangible and new be that a lot of culture-led investment inevit-
lessons are constantly having to be learned. ably produces placeless forms of cultural
For example, in his discussion of the regener- representation (Dicks, 2003). From this per-
ation of Porto in the aftermath of its steward- spective, culture-led regeneration projects all
ship of the ‘European Capital of Culture too often rely on formulaic development916 STEVEN MILES
plans producing standardised results; what urban boosters, or which constructs an ideal-
Short (1989) calls the new international ised middle class of what a city should be,
blandscape “sterile and lacking in imagin- but one that genuinely engages with the
ation” (Owen, 1993, p. 15). Such cities are people that make a city what it is.
only distinguished from each other on artifi-
cial grounds—grounds constructed symboli-
NewcastleGateshead Quayside
cally by the marketeer
In order for a genuine public debate to take
The ready-made identities assigned by city
place and in order to understand the impact
boosters and disseminated through the mass
of culture-led regeneration and in particular
media often reduce several different visions
the relationship between iconic projects and
of local culture into a single vision that
a sense of place and space, it is essential to
reflects the aspirations of a powerful elite
contextualise the historical and sociological
and the values, lifestyles, and expectations
conditions under which such circumstances
of potential investors and tourists. These
arise. This approach is not one that sits very
practices are thus highly elitist and exclu-
happily with the short-termism associated
sionary, and often signify to more disadvan-
with an approach to cultural policy that
taged segments of the population that they
seeks to ‘prove’ the cultural case (Bailey
have no place in this revitalized and gentri-
et al., 2004). An approach that prioritises the
fied urban spectacle (Broudehoux, 2004,
meaning attached to iconic developments
p. 26).
may prove far more beneficial in determining
Dicks (2003, p. 82) points out that the under- why a development is successful. This article
lying rationale behind flagship redevelopmet will therefore focus on the findings that are
projects is, in the above context, to generate beginning to emerge from a 10-year longitudi-
new consumer demand by attracting new visi- nal project, the Cultural Investments and Stra-
tors and shoppers to the city and thus “is rarely tegic Impact Research (CISIR)1 project funded
directed primarily at improving the quality of by Gateshead Borough Council, Newcastle
life of existing residents”. Dicks discusses the City Council, The Arts Council, England,
redevelopment of Cardiff Bay as an example One NorthEast and Culture North-East,
of regeneration that could be accused of which is concerned with the social, economic
distancing the project from its locality and and cultural impact of cultural investment
thus from the existing local culture. Mean- on NewcastleGateshead Quayside. Although
while, Broudehoux goes on to argue that a just 3 years through its 10-year course, this
city’s cultural capital cannot be easily mani- research is beginning to indicate that iconic
pulated, insofar as inappropriately blatant projects can serve a significant ideological
image construction will inevitably give rise function, at least if at the right place in the
to tensions and political conflicts. In effect, right time, as far as they play a key role in
the representation of a city must do more not simply reflecting a sense of local identity
than simply construct a ‘pseudo-place’ but in actually rearticulating and reconfigur-
(Augé, 1995). ing that identity in complex and paradoxical
It will be suggested in this article that an ways.
economically driven vision of culture-led NewcastleGateshead Quayside has in
regeneration may serve to underestimate the recent years undergone a remarkable trans-
diverse meanings which all social groups formation. Millions of pounds of public and
potentially invest in a development like that private investment have revitalised the Quay-
on NewcastleGateshead Quayside. It is in side both in the eyes of its people and, perhaps
this context that Bianchini and Schwengel even more so, in the eyes of the outside world
(1991) call for a genuinely public debate (Minton, 2003). This revitalisation centres
about the reimagining of cities, a debate that around three iconic pieces of architecture:
is not left to the marketing strategy and the BALTIC Contemporary Art Gallery built‘OUR TYNE’ 917 for £46 million; the Sage Gateshead Music common good. The Quayside has long pro- Centre designed by Foster and Partners at a vided a focal point for the region and, indeed, cost of £70 million and the Gateshead Millen- appears to be becoming increasingly important nium Bridge built at a cost of £22 million in this respect. However, the marriage between which in combination have served to redefine Newcastle and Gateshead is largely symbolic an area of industrial decline. The BALTIC is a in nature and one issue this research will seek new contemporary arts centre that overlooks to address is the degree to which the renaming the River Tyne. The Arts Council National process is ‘owned’ by the people of Newcastle Lottery funded project saw the conversion, and Gateshead. by Gateshead Borough Council, of a 1940s According to DCMS figures, the total of grain warehouse into the largest gallery for around £250 million investment by Gateshead contemporary art in the UK which aimed to Council on the Quayside in order to construct attract 400 000 visitors annually. Originally this world-class arts, leisure and residential conceived as an art factory, a place for development has in turn generated over £1 artists from all over the world to work, the billion in private-sector funding. Given the BALTIC has no permanent collection and public reception of the Quayside develop- boasts five generous spaces for contemporary ments, common-sense would suggest that the exhibitions. Opened to the public in December NewcastleGateshead Quayside represents 2004, The Sage Gateshead is not envisaged something of a success. In policy circles, purely as a music venue. It is also a home NewcastleGateshead is often heralded as an for the Northern Sinfonia and Folkworks as example of the immense potential of invest- well as a Music Education Centre. The rein- ment of this kind (Minton, 2003). However, vention of Gateshead Quay, which also it would of course be grossly misleading to includes residential developments and two assume that the iconic nature of these devel- international hotels, is linked to the Newcastle opments guarantees success or that investment side of the Tyne by the Millennium Bridge, at a similar level will automatically kick-start the world’s first tilting bridge which was regeneration elsewhere. There is, indeed, a opened in September 2001 and won the body of work that questions the ‘just add RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 2002. culture and stir’ school of thought (Evans, In combination, these developments have 2001; Gibson and Stevenson, 2004; Jones given new life to NewcastleGateshead Quay- and Wilks-Heeg, 2004). side, providing the region with a renewed Most importantly, the culture of a place is public focal point. It is, however, important an essential ingredient to the success of to remember that the development of the culture-led regeneration (Jayne, 2004). The Quayside has not been without its political DCMS (2004, p. 22) itself recognises that tensions. the initial economic surge produced by a The history of the relationship between large project “can be difficult to sustain Newcastle City Council and Gateshead unless it is part of a wider regeneration and Council has not always been an easy one. unless it is formally rooted in the community”. The notion of NewcastleGateshead is in The NewcastleGateshead example serves to itself a construction of the destination-market- illustrate how complicated such a relationship ing agency Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, can be, not least in its construction of public intent on cashing in on both the reputation space which frames of Newcastle upon Tyne as a regional capital and party city, and the cultural iconicity on a vision of social life in the city, a vision the Gateshead side of the Tyne. The develop- both for those who live there, and interact ments on the Quayside have undoubtedly in urban public spaces every day, and for played a key role in highlighting the potential the tourists, commuters, and wealthy folks benefits to be had from the two councils who are free to flee the city’s needy putting their local rivalry to one side for the embrace (Zukin, 1995, p. 259).
918 STEVEN MILES
The relationship between iconic develop- A Centre of Urban Sociability
ments on the Quayside and the wider commu-
The Quayside is a space that is well accus-
nity lies at the heart of the CISIR project. The
tomed to change. However, at its heart
cultural dimension of the research programme
appears a long tradition of sociability. Over
has included a series of major surveys carried
the remainder of the research programme,
out by Market Research UK which seeks
the meaning of the Quayside will be addressed
information on cultural values and attendance
from a variety of angles, but the first step
among the local population and how these
along this path was constituted by a series of
factors relate to broader social and economic
group interviews undertaken with older resi-
indicators on a national basis. However, the
dents of Newcastle and Gateshead who were
degree to which statistical data can inform
identified through Age Concern. The inter-
our understanding of the actual meaning of
views were limited to older people in order
culture-led regeneration is doubtful, not least
to address the meanings attached to the
because changes in attendance are often used
historical development of the Quayside in
to justify public funding in the arts.
as focused a fashion as possible. The aim
In terms of measuring the apparent willing-
of these interviews was to tap into the role
ness of the population of NewcastleGateshead
of the Quayside as a key urban space and to
to take ownership of development on the
address the meanings with which people
Quayside, it is worth noting that CISIR
have endowed that space over time. Questions
respondents were advised that expenditure
of historical and cultural change are funda-
on the bridge, the BALTIC and the SAGE
mental to the meanings that underpin
Gateshead amounted to £250 million about
people’s relationships with the Quayside as
half of which came from public expenditure.
the following quotations from older residents
Sixty-six per cent of NewcastleGateshead
of NewcastleGateshead indicate. The Quay-
respondents in 2003 thought this was a
side has always been a social space
reasonable amount, an insignificant drop
from 69 per cent who felt the same in 2002. Everybody spoke to everybody down on the
This compares with 27 per cent who felt this Quayside in the ’40s. Perfect strangers. It
expenditure was too high in 2003 and 23 per didn’t matter. But nobody did anything
cent in 2002—further evidence that the devel- about the quayside. It was a disgrace! But,
opment has strong public support. Indeed, 95 there was an excitement about it. It was a
per cent of respondents in NewcastleGateshead change to get out of the house.
in 2003 felt that the Quayside was improving
You saw all life down there in all its stages!
the national image of the area while 89
per cent felt that the developments were For decades, the Quayside was a focal point
creating local pride in the area. But of for family outings. One Gateshead resident
course the above data do not in themselves who used to live in Washington recalled
prove anything. Granted, the CISIR project how an annual visit to the Quayside was one
is beginning to unearth evidence that the of the most exciting events of the year
Quayside is starting to have a significant
It was a great adventure. My family would
impact on people’s attitudes to culture (Bailey
be waiting to hear about what had gone on.
et al. 2004). However, as Evans (2004)
suggests, it remains notoriously difficult The Quayside was an industrious place but
to define and to quantify the social impacts also a place characterised by comradeship and
of cultural activity. In order to delve repartee: “[We] always enjoyed pay day
beneath the surface of cultural investment, because [we] got paid in the pub”. The Quay-
it is indeed necessary to address the meanings side was a vibrant place, perhaps personified
with which local people endow the above all by Paddy’s market which was the
Quayside and have endowed the Quayside main attraction on a Sunday afternoon. Mem-
over time. ories of the Quayside were overwhelmingly‘OUR TYNE’ 919
positive as were opinions about more recent The Quayside may have been ‘dirty’ and
developments: “And what is the BALTIC, ‘rotten’, but that was in a sense irrelevant
the BALTIC then was a flour mill, but to me because it belonged to the people of Tyneside
it is a tourist attraction now. It’s lovely”. It
It was very dirty, it was just a dirty old hole,
is indeed worth remembering that for a
excuse me. But it was our Tyne you know.
period the Quayside was, according to these
It was where Tyneside people were brought
respondents, pretty much derelict and
up. And they knew this.
unloved, a row of unremarkable warehouses
and sheds—“In the 1960s I used to be a city In many ways, as it is perhaps today, the Tyne
guide and I used to be ashamed if it was my was a ‘focal point’ for the people of Tyneside.
turn to go down by the Cooperage because it It was indeed, “the heart of Tyneside, the city
was such a filthy horrible site to show grew up from there”. It is under these circum-
people”. Things have changed considerably, stances that the Quayside retains its aura as a
many of the older people having visitors symbol of the north-east.
who expressly want to see the Quayside Culture-led regeneration does not inevit-
ably lead to the construction of a ‘blandscape’.
It is just a tourist attraction now because
Critics of developments on the Quayside in
people want to go there. I send cards to
the 1990s may have been justified in describ-
my family in Canada with the bridge on
ing the mixture of office, bars and restaurants
and early on in the year I had my sister-
on the Newcastle side in this fashion.
in-law and my niece and they wanted to
However, in combination with the iconic pro-
go down and see the bridge and wanted to
jects across the river, the Quayside offers
go and see the BALTIC. My sister-in-law
something very different. The Millennium
was not Canadian she was English as well
Bridge, the BALTIC and the Sage Gateshead
and she had an idea of what it was like
are symbols of the future rooted in the past.
before she left and she wanted to go and
This is no better expressed than in the case
compare and see what she thought of it.
of the BALTIC which was built in the shell
We went on a day trip. It made my day of a disused flour mill. As Moore and Abbas
when I went down there and saw the (2004) and Forrest and Kearns (1999)
bridge it was the first time I had been suggest, the physical environment has an
down and it just made my day the way the important role to play in fostering community
whole area had changed. morale and indeed for building bridges
between generations and groups in a local
Even given their undoubted fondness for the
community. The iconic projects on the Quay-
past, for these older people the Quayside is
side provide an avenue through which this
symbolic of a new improved Newcastle-
potential can conceivably be realised.
Gateshead
[In those days] everything had to be loaded
Behind the Quayside
in the right way otherwise it would prob-
ably go down there or go down there you It is not enough to say that investment on
know but it had to be done in a proper iconic projects on the Quayside feeds into
manner. But as I say it is progress in a lot the identity of the people in the region. What
of ways but apart from feeling sad about is it, under these circumstances, about the
not having this kind of thing now I do identity of the north-east that makes the
think it has improved and we are making Quayside developments work in the way they
use of the Quayside now and making do? As Byrne (1999) indicates, the North’s
money for Tyneside and Gateshead which cultural identity is very much the product of
is amalgamated now which they weren’t the mixing of immigrant populations from
at one time. It was dirty old Gateshead Ireland, Scotland, Cumberland, Yorkshire,
and rotten Newcastle it was. Scandinavia and other places in England920 STEVEN MILES
who were attracted to the area by the prospect and political geography of England
of high wages. The banks of the River Tyne (Wrightson, 1995, p. 29).
once housed shipbuilding, chemical works,
coalmining and other heavy industry that lay According to this view, pride qualified by
at the heart of the industrial might of the anxiety breeds truculence. Perhaps it is in
north-east (MacPherson, 1993). However, this way that cultural initiatives such as
deindustrialisation brought with it urban those we have described have apparently had
decay as Power and Mumford (1999) point such a fundamental impact on local peoples:
out. In discussing the Newcastle example, the NewcastleGateshead Quayside gave the
Power describes a situation in which Newcas- people of the region something tangible with
tle had entered a cycle of escalating physical which they could reassert their collective
decay in which houses were progressively identities. The sociability generally associated
being abandoned and boarded up. The with the people of Newcastle also plays an
causes of such a development, as Hall important role here. Newcastle, for instance,
(2002) points out, were complex but charac- was recently voted one of the world’s top 10
terised by the long-term structural decline of party cities by the Weisman Travel Agency.
the economy, notably during the 1970s and Lancaster points out that the working classes
1980s, and thus long-term unemployment, have been the ‘leading’ class in Newcastle
with poor-performing schools perpetuating for two centuries, the local élite having aban-
the problem, plus social disorder and even doned the city for the mansions of the Tyne
gang warfare. This was a particular problem valley. The end product of all this is a noisy
in west Newcastle, despite signs that the city and confident city and a city that is having
centre itself was by the turn of the millennium to adapt to social, economic and cultural
beginning to show signs of something of an change: a city that fulfils many of the key
urban renaissance with a thriving city centre requirements of successful city-making
(Hall, 1998). As Lancaster puts it
attracting not merely tourists and night-
time visitors but also now residents who Cities never stay still, they are always chan-
were colonizing converted warehouses ging, consciously or unconsciously trying
and new apartment blocks: urban renais- to be something else. Cities are places
sance and urban collapse were standing where people strive to overcome the nega-
side by side, sometimes as little as a mile tive effects of past and current circum-
apart (Hall, 2002, p. 418). stances and struggle to create meaning,
joy and hope in the place that history has
Global circumstances and the deindustrialisa- located them (Lancaster, 1995, p. 7).
tion of the north-east created a set of circum-
stances in which regional particularity had to It is this sense that the emphasis needs to be
be transferred from production to consump- placed on the relationship between individuals
tion and this was an essentially divisive and their physical and social relationships,
process (Vall, 1999). In this context, Keith because it is this relationship that underpins
Wrightson’s thesis that Northern identity is the transactional nature of place. From this
about pride and truculence is insightful perspective, places are in a constant state of
flux as the town ‘rubs off’ on its residents in
A northern upbringing frequently involves a processual fashion. From this point of
the inculcation of an unusually powerful view, individuals actively construct and
set of attachments to place; a deep rooting construe the experience of their immediate
in a particular physical, social and cultural environment which is more than simply the
environment. At the same time, however, product of broader cultural processes, but is
those loyalties are strongly inflected, about the relationship between people and
almost from the outset, by awareness of a place (Bonnes et al., 2003; Twigger-Ross
questionable place within the larger social and Uzzell, 1996).‘OUR TYNE’ 921
Many commentators struggle to grapple give the people who lived there other
with the identities of spaces and places and regions of identity beyond their own
how those identities are played out through poverty. Essentially, the last few decades
history and NewcastleGateshead is no excep- of prosperity have righted the injustice
tion in providing a significant challenge to these city people suffered, but at the cost
sociologists, geographers and historians alike of the breakup of their group life (Sennett,
(Minton, 2003). But the example of Newcas- 1970, p. 53).
tleGateshead Quayside also raises the possi-
bility that investment in culture is not simply From this point of view, city life is less
about regenerating the local economy, but unpredictable and more coherent than it was
can actually serve to revitalise the identities in the past and, while this might be a good
of the people of a city and even of a region; thing in terms of the efficiency of the city, it
that it can provide new ways for those is not so good for us as human beings.
people to look into themselves and out of Above all, a new centring on home and
themselves. In other words, it can reinvigorate family has created a situation in which social
the relationship between cultural, place and spaces are conceived as intimate and small
personal identity and offer a permanent and therefore based around the home. In
legacy. Such a realisation has significant short, Sennett argues that the essence and
implications for the ways in which policy- diversity of urban life have been undermined
makers engage with and indeed place expec- leaving a situation in which our cities are
tations upon iconic cultural projects. As crying out for new forms of complexity.
Hunt puts it The argument being presented here is that
yes, in some respects the iconic cultural devel-
The most successful cultural enterprises opments represented on the Quayside and
rightly announce themselves with an archi- taken at face value are inevitably socially
tectural statement, but they also draw on exclusive. The apartment buildings that have
indigenous traditions which appeal to the been developed immediately behind the
city’s self-identity. Yet all of them suffer BALTIC are more accessible to some social
from a common dependency upon lottery groups than others. At least some of the art
and state funds which ensures that so presented in BALTIC is inevitably more
much cultural regeneration is dangerously accessible to some social groups than others.
dependent upon political fashion and In many respects then, this project is inevita-
consumer trends. Grand-standing, high- bly one formed around the building-blocks
prestige developments funded by outside of economic and cultural capital. However,
quangos usually falter if there is no local those building-blocks can potentially produce
talent or support networks behind them new forms of complexity and diverse experi-
(Hunt, 2004, p. 348). ence that may transcend this superficial
In his book The Uses of Disorder, Richard exclusivity. Moreover, perhaps iconic devel-
Sennett (1970, p. 51) argues that in reconcep- opments such as that on NewcastleGateshead
tualising the city we should not be seeking to Quayside can successfully tap into and recon-
restore utopian visions of a small intimate figure aspects of place identity. Perhaps the
urban sociability, but should rather seek to Quayside will work because it offers a
find “some condition of urban life appropriate diverse range of new experiences, juxtaposing
for an affluent, technological era”. Sennett aspects of the arts, night-life culture and pride
argues that in an ever-elaborate bureaucratic in place, that mean different things for differ-
and technological world, the social dimen- ent social groups and different identities.
sions of urban life have rather been neglected Lefebvre (1991) argues that the success of a
city image depends upon the degree to
There were hidden threads of social struc- which the physical image of a city and its
ture in . . . poor city areas, threads that rhetorical image complement each other.922 STEVEN MILES
Perhaps NewcastleGateshead Quayside will example at least hints at the fact that this
succeed in traversing the rhetorical to need not always be the case. One interpret-
provide a new form of urban sociability. ation of the Quayside is as a centre of
Landmark sites such as that on Newcastle- consumption, playing to the aesthetic sensibil-
Gateshead Quayside have a significant sym- ities of the middle classes (Pollard, 2004). But
bolic and material power. They make a power- that is one interpretation amongst many. It
ful statement about a place and that place’s could equally be argued that global forms of
intentions. But that statement is not, as we consumption that appear on the surface to be
might assume, imposed upon the people of a imposed are actually renegotiated at the
city. Its meanings are at least potentially local level (Evans, 2001). It is in this sense
open to negotiation and it is the nature of that the Quayside has emerged as a focal
that negotiation that researchers need to deci- point for the ‘imagining’ of Newcastle-
pher if research into iconic culture-led regen- Gateshead; an imagining that has developed
eration is to teach us any genuine lessons. into a mobilising force in the public realm of
There is no one public space, as Zukin governance in Newcastle and Gateshead
(1995) suggests. Urban space is experienced (Healey, 2002). Politically, the Quayside has
space and just because one space provides cul- been a catalyst for revitalising a climate of
tural opportunities that may appear to fit more political collaboration between two rival
readily into the habitus of a particular social councils. The challenge now is to maintain
group, does not necessarily mean to say it rep- momentum; to use these iconic projects as a
resents a form of oppression to another. It may foundation upon which culture-led regener-
indeed provide a means, however symbolic, of ation can undermine those aspects of social
escaping from that oppression. Ultimately, polarisation that are so often the inevitable
landmark sights and in particular, waterfront consequence of post-industrial developments
regeneration schemes are the product of a of this kind. But this is only the beginning of
complex of local, cultural, economic and his- the story. If social polaristation is to be
torical factors (Bassett et al., 2002). As Breen avoided, the iconography of the Quayside
and Rigby argue needs to precipitate a permanent legacy
which taps into the cultural lives of all social
Waterfront redevelopment and expansion
groups. The BALTIC and the Sage Gateshead
is, in short, the best current example glob-
are at least vocal in their determination to
ally of the resilience of cities, of their
appeal to a broad range of social groups,
ability to adapt to changed circumstances,
notably through Sage Gateshead’s efforts to
to adjust to new technological impacts, to
incorporate all forms of musical performance
seize opportunities and to forge new
and through both organisations’ education
images for themselves, as well as to create
programmes. Whether success is achieved in
new or altered neighbourhoods for their
this regard, only time will tell.
inhabitants. . . . Urban waterfront projects
do not always succeed. But where they
do, they have a dramatic and visible Conclusions
impact that is capable not only of enriching
The meaning of ‘culture’ and the impact of
a city’s economy but of improving its
cultural provision on place is in a sense intan-
collective self-image (Breen and Rigby,
gible. Of course human beings endow places
1996, p. 11).
with meaning and thus identity is a socio-
Healey (2002) has also suggested that civic spatial phenomenon (Neill, 2004). Liggett
attention and thus cultural identity are drifting (1995, p. 252) therefore suggests that rep-
away from grand public plazas and architec- resentational space is heavily loaded and
tural monuments. Nowadays, the football deeply symbolic: calling upon shared experi-
club or the retail precinct is the centre of ences and interpretations at a profound level.
civic attention. But the NewcastleGateshead From this point of view, iconic projects‘OUR TYNE’ 923
provide a key source of cultural meaning. as compared with the other and by common
Alternatively, Zukin (1991, p. 268) argues characteristics shared by a particular social
that urban space structures people’s “percep- or indeed geographical group. Hall goes on
tions, interactions, and sense of well-being to describe cultural identity as a sort of
or despair, belonging or alienation”. In this shared culture, a collective true self or
context, I want to suggest that the Quayside, common ancestry which may take precedence
the oldest part of Newcastle and until the over other aspects of identity. For this reason,
19th century the commercial hub of the city, iconic developments cannot be understood in
represents an especially important represen- isolation. As Hayden et al. put it
tational space for the north-east and thus
Restoring significant shared meanings for
plays a key role in structuring the above
many neglected urban spaces involves
emotions. In many respects the Quayside has
claiming the entire cultural landscape as
always been at the centre of the region, in
an important part of history, not just its
terms of the region’s industrial heritage, not
architectural monuments (Hayden et al.,
least given the iconography of the Tyne
1996, p. 109).
Bridge opened in 1929. Thus, the contention
that meanings can become more important The Quayside development is therefore a key
than the facts in policy deliberation is a pres- ingredient in what Moore and Abbas (2004)
cient one (Neill, 2004). But perhaps the key describe as the yet unexplored symbiotic
point here is that policy-makers and local relationship between culture and place, but
people alike align themselves to imagined more specifically perhaps, the relationship
communities and in this case to an imagined between cultural history and space.
post-industrial future. The Quayside offers There is, of course, no straightforward
the possibility of an optimistic future in an answer to the question, can culture make
otherwise pessimistic age. However, the opti- cities work? The impact of cultural investment
mism engendered in such iconic develop- in iconic projects is highly site-specific. There
ments is rooted in the foundations provided is no magic formula for success. But the
by NewcastleGateshead’s industrial past. important point here and one that deserves
The cultural identity of a place is not simply further investigation is that despite the politi-
the product of the moment, but of the evol- cal nature of culture-led regeneration it does
ution and adaptability of time. For this not necessarily produce a meaningless bland-
reason, questions of identity should lie at the scape. Such a view represents an aesthetic
heart of the discussion of NewcastleGateshead, simplification and not one that seeks to
and also in discussions of culture-led regene- engage with the meanings with which
ration more generally. This is a point taken people endow iconic projects such as that
up by Neill (2004), who refers to Hall, who in on NewcastleGateshead Quayside. I am
turn argues that not suggesting here that an approach to the
impact of iconic projects in the urban land-
identification is constructed through
scape should be uncritical; far from it. But
common origin and shared characteristics
any such analysis should be steeped in the his-
with people and groups, or perhaps with
torical identities of people and places which
an ideal, and the solidarity that emanates
can therefore provide a starting-point from
from that ideal (Hall, 1996, p. 13).
which critical analyses can develop.
In other words, identity is processual, marked Developments on NewcastleGateshead
by power relationships and uses a variety of Quayside emerged from a spirit in which poli-
cultural building materials from history, ticians, policy-makers and Arts activists were
geography, religion, sexuality and so on determined to provide the region with the
(Castells, 1997). The construction of identity world-class facilities they thought it deserved.
is as likely to be based on the symbolic And yet Broudehoux paints a picture in which
as it is on the real: by imagined differences city leaders manipulate924 STEVEN MILES
cultural forms and symbols to engineer con- Vegara’s thoughts on Bilbao are especially
sensus among city residents, foster local pertinent here
pride, and promote a shared sense of iden-
The greatest miracle that Bilbao is experi-
tity . . . urban beautification also has a depo-
encing is a dramatic change in attitude.
liticizing effect, and detracts attention from
The feelings of failure and pessimism
social and economic inequities by reducing
brought about by prolonged economic
the city to a surface assumed to be trans-
crisis and political conflicts have given
parent and unproblematic (Broudehoux,
way to a collective optimism . . . The majo-
2004, p. 27).
rity of the Basque community—the public
institutions, the private sector, and the
civil society—is now convinced that it is
In constructing such an image of iconic cul-
indeed possible to reinvent Bilbao and the
tural development, Broudehoux presents a
Basque Country in the new post-industrial
rather static image of city life and the mean-
age. This is the true miracle of Bilbao
ings people attach to it. The iconic projects
(Vegara, 2001, p. 94).
on NewcastleGateshead Quayside are land-
mark buildings that undoubtedly contribute The degree of social and economic control
to the pride and confidence of people in the that the south continues to exert over the
region; an essential element to any pro- north may or may not be exaggerated, but
gramme of urban regeneration (Forrest and the fact that London’s Millennium Bridge
Kearns, 1999). But to describe this process wobbled and Gateshead’s did not is undeni-
as depoliticising underestimates the degree ably real. It is real for NewcastleGateshead
to which the meanings which people invest as a city seeking to establish a sense of itself
in developments of this kind are individua- for consumption by the outside world, but
lised and place-specific. As Zukin (1995) most importantly it is real for the people
puts it, public space constitutes a window who have lived all their lives in one or other
into a city’s soul. NewcastleGateshead Quay- of these two cities sitting either side of the
side tells you as much about the north-east’s Tyne.
industrial past as its ambitions for a post-
industrial future. Although in its early days,
the CISIR programme aspires to understand Note
the degree to which that future can be a 1. The CISIR programme of research is being
reality for the people of NewcastleGateshead conducted by colleagues at the Centre for Cul-
tural Policy and Management, Northumbria
and the north-east. The programme will con- University.
tinue to do so by seeking to analyse the way
meaning is constructed around the Quayside,
whilst comprehending the Quayside’s econ- References
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