Changing aesthetics and the affluent elite in urban tourism place making

Speake, Janet and Kennedy, Victoria (2019) Changing aesthetics and the affluent elite in urban tourism place making. Tourism Geographies. ISSN 1461-6688

Text Valletta paper 03.10.19 FULL New Style REVISED HIRA.docx - Accepted Version Download (988kB)

Abstract

At the nexi between urban aesthetics, power of the affluent elite, property and tourism destinations are complex intersections. These are explored utilising a critical theory approach within the context of neoliberalism and the concept of ‘aesthetic common sense’ is introduced. New conceptualisations of the ways in which tourists and others are influenced, demonstrate how they, through the processes of commodification and mediatisation, adopt the preferred aesthetics of the affluent elite. Cityscape aesthetics, incorporating both structural, top-down aspects (placemaking) and human agency (place-making) as co-performers in place making, impact on and influence, tourism destinations. An outcome is styled-for-status built environments and streetscapes. This is illustrated through the lens of Malta and its capital city Valletta, which presents a contemporary and dynamic exemplar.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article submitted for consideration in Tourism Geographies. Copyright Taylor & Francis. The final published version is available online at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2019.1674368
Keywords:	Aesthetics, aesthetic common sense, affluent elite, neoliberalism, cityscape, place making, destinations, Valletta, Malta
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Computer Science and the Environment
Depositing User:	Victoria Kennedy
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2019 17:23
Last Modified:	14 Jan 2025 10:04
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2932

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