Hannigan, Christine;
(2024)
Culture as Commodity and Process: Neoliberal ‘Regeneration’ and Black Atlantic Music in the London Borough of Lewisham.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Preview |
Text
Hannigan Thesis_Culture as Commodity and Process Neoliberal Regeneration and Black Atlantic Music in the London Borough of Lewisham.pdf - Accepted Version Download (3MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In 2001, the London Borough of Lewisham began incorporating ‘culture’ into its regeneration discourses. This research explores how ‘culture’ is employed in Lewisham’s ‘regeneration’ and urban planning between 2001-2021, and how this relates to the long-established Black Atlantic music culture there. Critical discourse analysis, in-depth interviewing, and musicological discourse analysis were used to thematically interpret a catalogue of planning texts mainly produced by the Mayor of London/Greater London Authority and Lewisham Council; interviews with 21 Black Atlantic music practitioners; and a catalogue of music made by some interviewees. The research gives insight into how ‘culture’ is envisioned and enacted alternatively as a commodity to “catalyse” regeneration, or as a long-term historical and social process. Commodified ‘culture,’ like ticketed events, higher education, and clusters of ‘creative and cultural industries,’ rebrands the Borough to attract outside employers, homebuyers, and renters. Contrasting with this externally-oriented ‘culture’ is a generations-long Black Atlantic music culture informed and influenced by its creators’ respective heritages and present-day lives in the Borough. This process is borne of long-term networks of small businesses and residents who work together to provision resources withheld by a racial neoliberal state. The Council’s narratives justifying outside private real estate investment to ‘regenerate’ the Borough are predicated on centuries-old discursive formations demonising working-class and Black culture, which normalise the Council’s awarding of planning permissions for housing unmatched to existing residents’ needs, and funding patterns that to varying degrees prioritise drawing in outsiders at the expense of existing cultural places and activities. Interviewees and the catalogue of Black Atlantic music dispute these narratives, instead offering more nuanced interpretations of what the Borough is like (and why) and its existing culture, and how their spatial practice relates to ‘regeneration.’
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Culture as Commodity and Process: Neoliberal ‘Regeneration’ and Black Atlantic Music in the London Borough of Lewisham |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10189124 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
