ABSTRACT
In the final chapter, cultural space production and consumption are considered from the experience of participation with local communities through socially engaged arts practice. In addressing the issue of access to and the equitable distribution of cultural facilities, as both a cultural amenity and Right, the process of cultural mapping and planning is presented with illustrations from Northants, and Woolwich, London. The concept of Natural Cultural Districts is also reviewed, based on neighbourhoods in Philadelphia. A series of case studies of site and community-based engaged practice is then analysed, with examples from past and recent projects led by artists with local collaborators in areas undergoing regeneration in Sheffield, Salford and east and north London. The concept of cultural ecosystems is introduced through cultural mapping undertaken with local communities as part of co-designed festival events staged to highlight environmental and other issues in the shadow of the London Olympics regeneration site. This chapter closes with a conclusion on observations made through the arguments put forward in the book.
