Creative Networks and the City: Towards a Cultural Political Economy of Aesthetic Production

This book offers a fundamental contribution to the literature on the creative industries and the knowledge-based economy by focusing on three aspects: urban spaces as key sites of capitalist restructuring, creative industries' policies as state technologies aimed at economic exploitation, and the role of networks of aesthetic production in inflecting these tendencies. It simultaneously goes beyond these debates by integrating a concern with the cultural and aesthetic dimensions of the creative industries. As such, the book is relevant to researchers interested in the transdisciplinary project of a cultural political economy of creativity and urban change

Creative Networks and the City

This book offers a fundamental contribution to the literature on the creative industries and the knowledge-based economy by focusing on three aspects: urban spaces as key sites of capitalist restructuring, creative industries policies as state technologies aimed at economic exploitation, and the role of networks of aesthetic production in inflecting these tendencies. It simultaneously goes beyond these debates by integrating a concern with the cultural and aesthetic dimensions of the creative industries. As such, the book is relevant to researchers interested in the transdisciplinary project of a cultural political economy of creativity and urban change

Mapping the Shadow Economy: Spatial Variations in the use of High Denomination Bank Notes in Brussels

The aim of this paper is to map the spatial variations in the size of the shadow economy within Brussels. Reporting data provided by the National Bank of Belgium on the deposit of high denomination banknotes across bank branches in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, the finding is that the shadow economy is concentrated in wealthier populations and not in deprived or immigrant communities. The outcome is a call to transcend the association of the shadow economy with marginalized groups and the wider adoption of this indirect method when measuring spatial variations in the shadow economy

Cultural Analysis, Urban Political Economy and Critique

The dimensions of 'the urban' in cultural studies remain undertheorized, even though most of the research in cultural studies focuses on cultural practices in urban environments. The focus of this article is methodological. The first section highlights the analytical and ethical concerns of cultural studies. The second section takes another look at the debate that took place between Stuart Hall and Bob Jessop in the 1980s in order to understand the methodological biases this confrontation has produced and how this inhibits a sophisticated understanding of urban complexity. The article then proceeds to discuss possible routes towards a more complex notion of the intertwinement of culture and the urban political economy. Throughout the paper, it is argued that the notion of critique remains central to cultural studies, but that there is a need to respecify this critique in order to come to terms with the structural depth of urban spaces

Broadening the Urban Planning Repertoire with an ‘Arrival Infrastructures’ Perspective

In this article we propose an arrival infrastructure’s perspective in order to move beyond imaginaries of neighbourhoods as a ‘port of first entry’ that are deeply ingrained in urban planning discussions on migrants’ arrival situations. A focus on the socio-material infrastructures that shape an arrival situation highlights how such situations are located within, but equally transcend, the territories of neighbourhoods and other localities. Unpacking the infrastructuring work of a diversity of actors involved in the arrival process helps to understand how they emerge through time and how migrants construct their future pathways with the futuring possibilities at hand. These constructions occur along three dimensions: (1) Directionality refers to the engagements with the multiple places migrants have developed over time, (2) temporality questions imaginaries of permanent belonging, and (3) subjectivity directs attention to the diverse current and future subjectivities migrants carve out for themselves in situations of arrival. This perspective requires urban planners to trace, grasp and acknowledge the diverse geographies and socio-material infrastructures that shape arrival and the diverse forms of non-expert agency in the use, appropriation and fabrication of the built environment in which the arrival takes place

La compétitivité de Bruxelles dans la recherche européenne

Quelle est la place de Bruxelles dans la géographie de la recherche européenne ? Elle est généralement reconnue comme la capitale de l’UE, mais principalement en raison des activités politico-administratives qu’elle abrite. Or, la recherche est essentielle à une économie fondée sur la connaissance. La présente étude montre donc dans quelle mesure Bruxelles participe efficacement aux projets européens de R&D. D’après les conclusions qui s’en dégagent, Bruxelles exerce un double rôle : d’une part, les acteurs belges enregistrent de bons résultats face à la concurrence dans le cadre des appels à projets de R&D et d’autre part, les acteurs liés à l’UE, par la mise en place de réseaux de recherche, contribuent à faire de Bruxelles la capitale de l’Espace européen de la recherche. Cette analyse s’appuie sur une base de données innovante recensant les participations à des projets relatifs aux programmes-cadres de 1999 à 2010.What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a “knowledge-based economy”, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double role for Brussels: i) Belgian stakeholders perform well in the competition for R&D calls; ii) EU-related stakeholders contribute by establishing research networks, making Brussels the “capital of the European Research Area”. The analysis is based on an innovative database of participation in Framework Programme projects from 1999 to 2010.Welke plek neemt Brussel in de Europese onderzoeksgeografie in? Brussel wordt algemeen erkend als de hoofdstad van de Europese Unie, maar vooral vanwege haar politiek-bestuurlijke functies. Omdat onderzoek fundamenteel is in een “kenniseconomie”, toont dit artikel de prestaties van Brussel op het gebied van deelname aan Onderzoek & Ontwikkeling-projecten (O&O) in de Europese Unie. De conclusies wijzen op een dubbele rol voor Brussel: i) de Belgische actoren presteren goed in de competitie om O&O-calls; ii) EU-gerelateerde actoren dragen bij door de oprichting van onderzoeksnetwerken, die van Brussel de “hoofdstad van de Europese onderzoeksgeografie” maken. De analyse is gebaseerd op een innovatieve databank van deelnames aan Framework Programme-projecten van 1999 tot 2010

The competitiveness of Brussels in European research

What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a “knowledge-based economy”, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double role for Brussels: i)  Belgian stakeholders perform well in the competition for R&D calls; ii) EU-related stakeholders contribute by establishing research networks, making Brussels the “capital of the European Research Area”. The analysis is based on an innovative database of participation in Framework Programme projects from 1999 to 2010.Quelle est la place de Bruxelles dans la géographie de la recherche européenne ? Elle est généralement reconnue comme la capitale de l’UE, mais principalement en raison des activités politico-administratives qu’elle abrite. Or, la recherche est essentielle à une économie fondée sur la connaissance. La présente étude montre donc dans quelle mesure Bruxelles participe efficacement aux projets européens de R&D. D’après les conclusions qui s’en dégagent, Bruxelles exerce un double rôle : d’une part, les acteurs belges enregistrent de bons résultats face à la concurrence dans le cadre des appels à projets de R&D et d’autre part, les acteurs liés à l’UE, par la mise en place de réseaux de recherche, contribuent à faire de Bruxelles la capitale de l’Espace européen de la recherche. Cette analyse s’appuie sur une base de données innovante recensant les participations à des projets relatifs aux programmes-cadres de 1999 à 2010.Welke plek neemt Brussel in de Europese onderzoeksgeografie in? Brussel wordt algemeen erkend als de hoofdstad van de Europese Unie, maar vooral vanwege haar politiek-bestuurlijke functies. Omdat onderzoek fundamenteel is in een “kenniseconomie”, toont dit artikel de prestaties van Brussel op het gebied van deelname aan Onderzoek & Ontwikkeling-projecten (O&O) in de Europese Unie. De conclusies wijzen op een dubbele rol voor Brussel: i) de Belgische actoren presteren goed in de competitie om O&O-calls; ii) EU-gerelateerde actoren dragen bij door de oprichting van onderzoeksnetwerken, die van Brussel de “hoofdstad van de Europese onderzoeksgeografie” maken. De analyse is gebaseerd op een innovatieve databank van deelnames aan Framework Programme-projecten van 1999 tot 2010

Concurrentievermogen van Brussel in het Europees onderzoek

Welke plek neemt Brussel in de Europese onderzoeksgeografie in? Brussel wordt algemeen erkend als de hoofdstad van de Europese Unie, maar vooral vanwege haar politiek-bestuurlijke functies. Omdat onderzoek fundamenteel is in een “kenniseconomie”, toont dit artikel de prestaties van Brussel op het gebied van deelname aan Onderzoek & Ontwikkeling-projecten (O&O) in de Europese Unie. De conclusies wijzen op een dubbele rol voor Brussel: i) de Belgische actoren presteren goed in de competitie om O&O‑calls; ii) EU-gerelateerde actoren dragen bij door de oprichting van onderzoeksnetwerken, die van Brussel de “hoofdstad van de Europese onderzoeksgeografie” maken. De analyse is gebaseerd op een innovatieve databank van deelnames aan Framework Programme-projecten van 1999 tot 2010.What is the place of Brussels in the European research geography? Brussels is commonly recognised as the EU capital, but mainly for its political and administrative functions. As research is fundamental in a “knowledge-based economy”, this paper shows the performance of Brussels in terms of participation in EU R&D projects. Findings show a double role for Brussels: i) Belgian stakeholders perform well in the competition for R&D calls; ii) EU-related stakeholders contribute by establishing research networks, making Brussels the “capital of the European Research Area”. The analysis is based on an innovative database of participation in Framework Programme projects from 1999 to 2010.Quelle est la place de Bruxelles dans la géographie de la recherche européenne ? Elle est généralement reconnue comme la capitale de l’UE, mais principalement en raison des activités politico-administratives qu’elle abrite. Or, la recherche est essentielle à une économie fondée sur la connaissance. La présente étude montre donc dans quelle mesure Bruxelles participe efficacement aux projets européens de R&D. D’après les conclusions qui s’en dégagent, Bruxelles exerce un double rôle : d’une part, les acteurs belges enregistrent de bons résultats face à la concurrence dans le cadre des appels à projets de R&D et d’autre part, les acteurs liés à l’UE, par la mise en place de réseaux de recherche, contribuent à faire de Bruxelles la capitale de l’Espace européen de la recherche. Cette analyse s’appuie sur une base de données innovante recensant les participations à des projets relatifs aux programmes-cadres de 1999 à 2010

Life, time, and the organism:Temporal registers in the construction of life forms

In this paper, we articulate how time and temporalities are involved in the making of living things. For these purposes, we draw on an instructive episode concerning Norfolk Horn sheep. We attend to historical debates over the nature of the breed, whether it is extinct or not, and whether presently living exemplars are faithful copies of those that came before. We argue that there are features to these debates that are important to understanding contemporary configurations of life, time and the organism, especially as these are articulated within the field of synthetic biology. In particular, we highlight how organisms are configured within different material and semiotic assemblages that are always structured temporally. While we identify three distinct structures, namely the historical, phyletic and molecular registers, we do not regard the list as exhaustive. We also highlight how these structures are related to the care and value invested in the organisms at issue. Finally, because we are interested ultimately in ways of producing time, our subject matter requires us to think about historiographical practice reflexively. This draws us into dialogue with other scholars interested in time, not just historians, but also philosophers and sociologists, and into conversations with them about time as always multiple and never an inert background

Creative Networks and the City

This book offers a fundamental contribution to the literature on the creative industries and the knowledge-based economy by focusing on three aspects: urban spaces as key sites of capitalist restructuring, creative industries policies as state technologies aimed at economic exploitation, and the role of networks of aesthetic production in inflecting these tendencies. It simultaneously goes beyond these debates by integrating a concern with the cultural and aesthetic dimensions of the creative industries. As such, the book is relevant to researchers interested in the transdisciplinary project of a cultural political economy of creativity and urban change