Zdravko TRIVIC (Dr)

WHAT CAN SPACE DO FOR THE ARTS? WHAT CAN THE ARTS DO FOR SPACE? WHAT CAN THE ARTS AND SPACE DO FOR THE COMMUNITY? THROUGH THE LENSES OF CREATIVE PLACEMAKING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD ARTS ECOLOGY, THIS BOOK RE-EXAMINES THE POSITION OF COMMUNITY ARTS IN THE SPATIAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE. EMPHASISING URBAN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS OF COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ARTS, SPACE AND PEOPLE, THE BOOK RE-EXPLORES THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY- BASED ARTS ACTIVITIES IN SHAPING URBAN NEIGHBOURHOODS, ENRICHING PUBLIC LIFE AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES. THE BOOK IS DIVIDED INTO AN ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ARTS IN NEIGHBOURHOODS AND A STUDY OF THE IMPACTS OF BRINGING ARTS AND CULTURE ACTIVITIES INTO LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOODS AND COMMUNITIES, USING SINGAPORE’S NODAL APPROACH AS A DEVELOPED CASE STUDY. USING SPATIAL OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS, THE BOOK DEMONSTRATES A STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SPACES THAT WORK BEST FOR COMMUNITY ARTS AND CULTURE ACTIVITIES. IN THE STUDY OF IMPACTS, TRIVIC PROPOSES A HOLISTIC FRAMEWORK FOR CAPTURING AND EVALUATING THE NON-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF ARTS AND CULTURE ON SPACE, SOCIETY, WELL-BEING, EDUCATION AND PARTICIPATION. THE BOOK IS AN INVALUABLE TEMPLATE FOR ARTS EVENT ORGANISERS AND ARTISTS TO ASSESS AND MAXIMISE THE OUTCOMES OF THEIR CREATIVE EFFORTS IN LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOODS, AS WELL AS AN IMPORTANT READING FOR STUDENTS AND PRACTITIONERS OF NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING, URBAN DESIGN AND CREATIVE PLACEMAKING.

THIS GUIDE IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH AND ESTABLISHMENT OF ARTS WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY. IT AIMS TO HELP SUSTAIN THE EFFORTS TO INCREASE DIVERSE TOUCH-POINTS FOR COMMUNITIES TO ENCOUNTER THE ARTS, STRENGTHEN CAPABILITY AMONG STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN NEIGHBOURHOODS THROUGH THE ARTS, AND ENHANCE A SENSE OF PLACE BETWEEN RESIDENTS AND SHARED SPACES THROUGH A DIVERSITY OF ARTS AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES. THE CONTENT PRESENTED IN THIS GUIDE REPRESENTS THE SYNTHESIS OF A STUDY CONDUCTED AT SELECTED ARTS AND CULTURE NODES. THE ARTS AND CULTURE NODES INITIATIVE, LAUNCHED BY THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL IN 2012, ESTABLISHES AN ISLAND-WIDE NETWORK OF ARTS TOUCH-POINTS WITHIN NEIGHBOURHOODS TO PROVIDE ALL SINGAPOREANS WITH GREATER ACCESS TO QUALITY ARTS, BRING VIBRANCY AND STRONGER IDENTITY TO PUBLIC SPACES, AND INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND BONDING THROUGH THE ARTS. SUCH TOUCH-POINTS GO BEYOND FORMAL ARTS VENUES (TYPICALLY FOUND IN THE CITY CENTRE) AND INVOLVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS LIBRARIES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, CIVIC CENTRES, COMMUNITY AND RECREATIONAL CLUBS AND CORPORATE ORGANISATIONS THAT PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

THIS GUIDE IS AN EVALUATION FRAMEWORK DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT THE ASSESSMENT OF SHORT AND LONG-TERM IMPACTS OF ARTS PROJECTS, EVENTS, AND INITIATIVES ON NEIGHBOURHOODS, PUBLIC LIFE, AND COMMUNITIES. IT IS DESIGNED TO HELP DOCUMENT AND BETTER FACILITATE CREATIVE EFFORTS TO BRING QUALITY ARTS CLOSE TO WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY. THE CONTENT PRESENTED IN THIS GUIDE REPRESENTS THE SYNTHESIS OF A STUDY CONDUCTED AT SELECTED ARTS AND CULTURE NODES. THE ARTS AND CULTURE NODES INITIATIVE, LAUNCHED BY THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL IN 2012, ESTABLISHES AN ISLAND-WIDE NETWORK OF ARTS TOUCH-POINTS WITHIN NEIGHBOURHOODS TO PROVIDE ALL SINGAPOREANS WITH GREATER ACCESS TO QUALITY ARTS, BRING VIBRANCY AND STRONGER IDENTITY TO PUBLIC SPACES, AND INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND BONDING THROUGH THE ARTS.

RE-FRAMING URBAN SPACE: URBAN DESIGN FOR EMERGING HYBRID AND HIGH-DENSITY CONDITIONS RETHINKS THE ROLE AND MEANING OF URBAN SPACES THROUGH CURRENT TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT. IN EMERGING DENSE, HYBRID, COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC URBAN CONDITIONS, PUBLIC URBAN SPACE IS NOT ONLY A PRECIOUS AND CONTESTED COMMODITY, BUT ALSO ONE OF THE KEY VEHICLES FOR ACHIEVING SOCIALLY, ENVIRONMENTALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE URBAN LIVING. PAST RESEARCH HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY FOCUSED ON FAMILIAR MODELS OF URBAN SPACE, SUCH AS SQUARES, PLAZAS, STREETS, PARKS AND ARCADES, WITHOUT CONSISTENT AND CLEAR RULES ON WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD URBAN SPACE, LET ALONE WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD URBAN SPACE IN ‘HIGH-DENSITY CONTEXT’. THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE AND INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK, RE-FRAMING URBAN SPACE GUIDES THE ASSESSMENT, PLANNING, DESIGN AND RE-DESIGN OF URBAN SPACES AT VARIOUS STAGES OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS, FACILITATING AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ENDURING QUALITIES ARE EXPRESSED AND NEGOTIATED THROUGH DESIGN MEASURES IN HIGH-DENSITY URBAN ENVIRONMENTS. THIS BOOK EXPLORES OVER 50 BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDIES OF RECENT URBAN DESIGN PROJECTS IN HIGH-DENSITY CONTEXTS, INCLUDING SINGAPORE, BEIJING, TOKYO, NEW YORK, AND ROTTERDAM. VISUALLY COMPELLING AND INSIGHTFUL, RE-FRAMING URBAN SPACE PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE MEANS TO UNDERSTAND THE CRITICAL PROPERTIES THAT SHAPE NEW URBAN SPACES, ILLUSTRATING KEY DESIGN COMPONENTS AND PRINCIPLES. AN INVALUABLE GUIDE TO THE STAGES OF URBAN DESIGN, PLANNING, POLICY AND DECISION MAKING, THIS BOOK IS ESSENTIAL READING FOR URBAN DESIGN AND PLANNING PROFESSIONALS, ACADEMICS AND STUDENTS INTERESTED IN PUBLIC SPACES WITHIN HIGH-DENSITY URBAN DEVELOPMENT.