Changing nature of place experience

This article delves into the experiential atmospheres of places, specifically focusing on football matches to challenge existing marketing theories. It critiques the conventional view of place atmosphere as a controllable, contained, and uniform entity. Instead, the authors propose a more spatially and temporally porous understanding, emphasizing how memories, routines, and future expectations intricately shape the present atmosphere. Through a study of Manchester City Football Club, the article explores how past experiences, disrupted routines, and anticipated outcomes influence the atmosphere within and beyond the stadium, arguing for a re-evaluation of how marketing considers the dynamic and multi-faceted nature of place atmospheres.

This chapter reflects upon the authors' earlier work, "Spaces of Vernacular Creativity," and its critique of the then-dominant focus on the "creative economy." It argues that creativity is often narrowly defined and geographically limited to urban centres and specific industries, overlooking the vernacular, everyday practices that occur in less glamorous spaces and among marginal groups. The authors emphasize the importance of recognising non-economic values and outcomes of creativity, such as social collaboration, community building, and individual well-being, and advocate for a more inclusive and expansive understanding of creativity that embraces diverse forms of making, socialising, and engaging with the world. Ultimately, the text welcomes the rejection of elitist and reductive definitions of creativity and supports its protean nature.

This article from the International Journal of Cultural Policy explores Blackpool Illuminations as a case study for understanding how cultural value is assigned and contested. It argues the Illuminations, a long-standing example of working-class cultural production, are often negatively stereotyped as "tacky" by those who champion more abstract and design-led forms of regeneration. The authors, Tim Edensor and Steve Millington, contend these negative depictions disregard the local expertise and cultural values embedded in the Illuminations' production and reception, calling for planners and policymakers to consider vernacular creativities and specific cultural practices to avoid homogenising cultural policies. Ultimately, the paper argues for a revaluation of local cultural forms like the Blackpool Illuminations and the need to recognise the different values held by diverse social groups.

This article examines class conflict in Britain as expressed through Christmas light displays. The authors note that elaborate, colourful illuminations are more common in working-class areas, while middle-class areas favour understated lighting. They analyse how the media often portrays those who display these lights as "chavs", reinforcing negative stereotypes and class distinctions through expressions of disgust and spatial segregation. However, the authors also investigate the motivations of the displayers themselves, revealing that they are driven by ideals of community, generosity, and the desire to create a festive atmosphere, especially for children, thereby challenging the negative portrayals and highlighting the divergence in how different classes perceive and enact Christmas traditions.