Culture and the City. Public Action and Social Participation in Rome's Experience

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role and impact of cultural resources in urban change and growth. In particular the recent experience of Rome, where the municipal administration has often based the urban transformation of various areas upon cultural action, including contemporary architecture buildings, creative artists’ work, cultural neighbourhoods and the like, is examined from a range of perspectives, focusing upon the many dilemmas faced by the public decision-maker in a complex eco-system such as a town where residents, external users, and mass tourists share the same areas for different, and often conflicting, purposes. The main outcomes of the analysis show a substantial connection between the kind of action carried out and the possible degree of social engagement, along with the shared perception of common profiles in cultural resources. The need to activate cultural investments within a strategic framework, and the symmetrical weakness of occasional action is emphasized.