Currid (2009) Bohemia as subculture: “Bohemia” as industry
Bohemian = somebody who leads an alternative lifestyle, they are not hippies because they can have
a wide range of different tastes in music, art, literature etc. They are usually very creative people.
High-skilled employees is also called = knowledge workers, symbolic analysts, or creative class
Artists were mostly seen as agents of revitalization, as they transformed neighborhoods in bohemian
areas that become destinations for the rich, and also bringing redevelopment and reinvestment. This
is not a new phenomenon: artists used to sought out less expensive neighborhoods that they could
afford and with enough space for working. What is new, is actively using art as creating economic
value. It is nowadays seen as a form of symbolic capital.
Arts and culture are difficult to define, as it both has economic (tangible) and symbolic capital
(intangible). Art and culture are taste-driven goods, services, products, performances that are sold on
market place (fashion, film) and valued for art’s sake (street music). Nowadays more art forms turn
into commodities (films, fashion), and also cultural places transform into hip neighborhoods. Also the
places where such goods are created and consumed become critical points of culture, being
commodified and mass produced. People want to buy a product associated with the place, as they
want to consume and buy a piece of the place itself. How does this cultural production produces
value for the places?
Economic development of art:
The role of culture and art is changing within the postmodern society. Art and culture develop on
their own, but they are also used as a strategy for economic development, in order to attract people,
firms and investment. Those two functions are mutually reinforcing each other. On the local level,
the bohemian street life is able to establish authenticity and to attract labor and tourism. Using art
and culture in public spaces creates a progressive, dynamic city that attracts investment (= economic
development).
We went from an urban economy driven by physical production processes to highly sophisticated
networks of human capital, ideas, knowledge transmission. The focus nowadays is upon attracting
people, and specially high skilled human capital. In order to attract them a city needs artistically rich
environments.
The human capital variable in development
Nowadays high-skilled employees are most important for the growth of cities (firms are less relevant,
because they are not place-bound anymore). Cities compete for human capital, ‘compete for talent’.
The new growth paradigm argues that people and their associated knowledge and ideas are
important, for increasing productivity and development. There is a link between highly skilled
workers and regional and urban economic growth, ‘the rise of the skilled city’, as where people
locate, firms will also locate. Art and culture influence the locational patterns of highly skilled human
capital, as skilled workers tend to seek places with thick labor markets and cultural amenities.
Therefore, arts plays a major role in developing a city, in order to attract those people. There are 4
functions of art and culture within cities:
Bohemian = somebody who leads an alternative lifestyle, they are not hippies because they can have
a wide range of different tastes in music, art, literature etc. They are usually very creative people.
High-skilled employees is also called = knowledge workers, symbolic analysts, or creative class
Artists were mostly seen as agents of revitalization, as they transformed neighborhoods in bohemian
areas that become destinations for the rich, and also bringing redevelopment and reinvestment. This
is not a new phenomenon: artists used to sought out less expensive neighborhoods that they could
afford and with enough space for working. What is new, is actively using art as creating economic
value. It is nowadays seen as a form of symbolic capital.
Arts and culture are difficult to define, as it both has economic (tangible) and symbolic capital
(intangible). Art and culture are taste-driven goods, services, products, performances that are sold on
market place (fashion, film) and valued for art’s sake (street music). Nowadays more art forms turn
into commodities (films, fashion), and also cultural places transform into hip neighborhoods. Also the
places where such goods are created and consumed become critical points of culture, being
commodified and mass produced. People want to buy a product associated with the place, as they
want to consume and buy a piece of the place itself. How does this cultural production produces
value for the places?
Economic development of art:
The role of culture and art is changing within the postmodern society. Art and culture develop on
their own, but they are also used as a strategy for economic development, in order to attract people,
firms and investment. Those two functions are mutually reinforcing each other. On the local level,
the bohemian street life is able to establish authenticity and to attract labor and tourism. Using art
and culture in public spaces creates a progressive, dynamic city that attracts investment (= economic
development).
We went from an urban economy driven by physical production processes to highly sophisticated
networks of human capital, ideas, knowledge transmission. The focus nowadays is upon attracting
people, and specially high skilled human capital. In order to attract them a city needs artistically rich
environments.
The human capital variable in development
Nowadays high-skilled employees are most important for the growth of cities (firms are less relevant,
because they are not place-bound anymore). Cities compete for human capital, ‘compete for talent’.
The new growth paradigm argues that people and their associated knowledge and ideas are
important, for increasing productivity and development. There is a link between highly skilled
workers and regional and urban economic growth, ‘the rise of the skilled city’, as where people
locate, firms will also locate. Art and culture influence the locational patterns of highly skilled human
capital, as skilled workers tend to seek places with thick labor markets and cultural amenities.
Therefore, arts plays a major role in developing a city, in order to attract those people. There are 4
functions of art and culture within cities:
