The Experience City: Planning of Hybrid Cultural Projects

 

The article take its point of departure in the pressure of the experience economy on European cities - a pressure which in recent years has found its expression in a number of comprehensive transformations of the physical and architectural environments, and new eventscapes related to fun and cultural experience are emerging. In the discussion of the transformation into the ‘experience economy' relevant to cities and urban areas we rarely find an analysis of the physical and spatial implications of this transformation. However, the physical, cultural and democratic consequences of this development are discussed in the paper, as well as the problems and the new opportunities with which the ‘Experience city' is faced. The article focus on the design of the Danish Experience City with special emphasis on hybrid cultural projects and on performative urban spaces. It present the first findings of a research project  mapping the different approaches to urban transformation and experience design, to the level of strategic thinking and planning, and to the content of the programs implemented. Special emphasis is put on on projects combining experience, leisure and learning, and on projects which have clear goals related to the improvement of social interaction, performance and cultural exchange. The article contains three sections. in section one, we present three European cases in order to relate to the wider international debate and development. In section two we present the main theoretical concepts and framings that will guide the understanding and the analysis of the experience city. In section three we focus on the design of the Danish experience city and present the first findings of the research project The projects are categorised according to their content, structure and urban localisation. In particular the cases are represented in relation to their strategic and urban planning importance, their social and cultural content and their architectural representation and the programmes they contain. The article ends with a short discussion of some  of these preliminary findings as well as we engage with the discussion about the trajectory of future research.