ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the experience of former light industrial and warehousing districts, which have been revitalized as cultural quarters within cities. Such areas are classic ‘zones of transition’, in that a decline in economic activity has been followed by protracted periods of disinvestment and disrepair. Whilst property market activity has tended to favour the central business district or green-field city-edge locations, most of the emerging cultural quarters have required public investment and planning. Their success has demonstrated that a combination of new cultural activity, new residences and the adherence to urban design principles creates successful places, even in formerly peripheral locations. We consider two major case studies – Temple Bar in Dublin and the Sheffield Cultural Industries Quarter. Reference is also made to two other cultural quarters: Manchester Northern Quarter and the West End of Adelaide.
