Exploring the Role of 'Visual Catalysts' on Influencing People's Attraction and Use of Place

CREATIVE PLACEMAKING
In recent years, <strong>the</strong> construct <strong>of</strong> placemaking has been fur<strong>the</strong>r broken down into three
specific categories. These are strategic placemaking, tactical placemaking and creative
placemaking (Wyck<strong>of</strong>f 2015). For this literature review, <strong>the</strong> one <strong>of</strong> particular importance is
creative placemaking; that being <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> shaping a neighbourhood, town, tribe, city or
region through artistic and/or cultural impressions with <strong>the</strong> intention <strong>of</strong> impacting <strong>the</strong> physical,
economic and social outcomes experienced in that space (Lydon & Garcia 2015).
This form <strong>of</strong> placemaking is gaining a large amount <strong>of</strong> momentum in <strong>the</strong> developed world, yet
creative placemaking is also recognised as still being a ‘fuzzy concept’ (Nicodemus 2013). This
has allowed creative placemaking on <strong>the</strong> one hand to be appealing and attractive in uptake
due it having limited restrictions, yet it is also criticised heavily for this very notion as being
vague which supports individual ideals, unsubstantive development and gentrification ra<strong>the</strong>r
than social equity (Frank 2012).
Consequently, this ambiguity is placing particular scrutiny on <strong>the</strong> movement in terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
difficulty to understand an interventions’ success. Its success in terms <strong>of</strong> being able to catalyse
social cohesion and community collaboration, or whe<strong>the</strong>r it is failing this and consequently
acting as a ‘stop-gap’ solution for major city-wide issues which only exacerbate social
disparities (Bedoya 2012). The ability to provide <strong>the</strong> measurement and evaluation <strong>of</strong> success
is seen as a vital step forward to alleviating this problem, however this has also sparked
controversy and debate due to <strong>the</strong> complexity this would involve. To address this, a basic
framework which outlines <strong>the</strong> significant aspired properties <strong>of</strong> creative placemaking has been
established by The National Consortium for Creative Placemaking (2012) as seen in figure 2.2.
As described by Nicodemus (2013), <strong>the</strong>se attributes need to be fur<strong>the</strong>r scrutinised and broken
down through detailed research into whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y are being fulfilled; such as whe<strong>the</strong>r creative
placemaking interventions do focus on creating connections, not just objects. An important
step for this to be understood is to first observe whe<strong>the</strong>r people respond to <strong>the</strong> changes <strong>of</strong>
a place due to creative placemaking interventions, and to provide insight into whe<strong>the</strong>r this
change <strong>of</strong> behaviour and/or experience has parallels with aspects which pertain to <strong>the</strong> positive
outcomes stated by <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> movement (Lehtovuori & Ruoppila 2012).
As a result, <strong>the</strong> challenge for creative placemaking for its growth and livelihood is clear. As
described by Nicodemus (2013), ei<strong>the</strong>r ‘mature and gain substance, or shrivel up under
<strong>the</strong> heat <strong>of</strong> scrutiny’. There needs to be greater research into <strong>the</strong> human experience within
creative placemaking spaces, <strong>the</strong>re needs to be greater measurability and accuracy <strong>of</strong> this
research, and <strong>the</strong>re needs to be a widely adopted and established framework that provides
greater depth for research to be more cohesive and collaborative with all stakeholders (Bishop
& Williams 2012). For Sydney, this type <strong>of</strong> research can be fur<strong>the</strong>red through observing a
specific form <strong>of</strong> creative placemaking that exists; ‘visual catalysts’ (Lydon & Garcia 2015).
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