‘Our Tyne’: Iconic Regeneration and theRevitalisation of Identity in NewcastleGatesheadSteven Miles[Paper first received, September 2004; in final form, December 2004]Summary. The landscape of the north-east of England, both urban and rural, is perhaps mostnotable as a deindustrialised landscape. Indeed, the world in which we live is determinedas much by what it was as by what it is. Perhaps this is no more evident than in the caseof NewcastleGateshead which is often portrayed as an exemplar of the revitalising benefits ofculture-led regeneration. The, as yet unproven, success of NewcastleGateshead Quayside isfounded upon a massive financial investment in iconic projects. But under what conditions is,if at all, such iconography succeeding? This article addresses the impact of flagship regenerationprojects and their role in radically rearticulating the meaning of place and space in a so-calledpost-industrial world. It is suggested that the success of investment in iconic cultural projectsdepends above all upon people’s sense of belonging in a place and the degree to which culture-led regeneration can engage with that sense of belonging, whilst balancing achievements of thepast with ambitions for the future.The de-industrialisation of cities has created aset of circumstances in which policy-makersthroughout Europe and beyond have despe-rately sought to explore the possibilities fora post-industrial future. For many suchcities, cultural investment in capital-intensiveprojects which make radical statements aboutwhere a city’s future might lay, offer a prom-ised land, but one that is ultimately oftenunrealisable. The development of Newcastle-Gateshead offers an example of an iconicculture-led project that appears, at least onthe surface, to be succeeding. But can invest-ment in iconic projects deliver what policy-makers ask of them? More pointedlyperhaps, at what level, if at all, do such pro-jects engage with the identity of a city andits people?This article will address the impact of flag-ship regeneration projects and their role inradically rearticulating the meaning of placeand space in a so-called post-industrialworld. As Hunt points outThe architectural critic Jonathon Glanceysuggested that Victorian cities had createdan urban culture on the back of their tradeand industry, but today it is the other wayaround. Instead of culture springing fromthe inner workings of our cities, we see itas the way to make our cities work (Hunt,2004, p. 350).In what follows, it will be suggested that thesuccess of investment in iconic cultural pro-jects depends above all upon people’s senseof belonging in a place and the degree towhich culture-led regeneration can engagewith that sense of belonging, whilst balancingachievements of the past with ambitions forthe future.Urban Studies, Vol. 42, Nos 5/6, 913–926, May 2005Steven Miles is in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work Studies, University of Liverpool, Eleanor RathboneBuilding, Bedford Street South, Liverpool, L69 72A, UK. Fax: 0151 794 2997. E-mail: [email protected]. The author wishes toacknowledge the insights and comments provided by Professor Christopher Bailey and Peter Stark.0042-0980 Print=1360-063X Online=05=05-60913 –14 # 2005 The Editors of Urban StudiesDOI: 10.1080=00420980500107326ContextThe impact of iconic developments on there-emergence of deindustrialised commu-nities is a matter of continued policy debate.John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister hassuggested thatThere’s a quiet revolution taking place inour leading cities. Places that were oncethe engine room of the industrial revolu-tion, employing millions in mills, factories,ports and shipyards, are learning new waysto create wealth in a global economy wherebrain has replaced brawn (DCMS, 2004,p. 12).But there is undoubtedly a danger in assumingthat cultural investment can provide somekind of an alternative future for all deindus-trialised cities. This reflects a broader debatein which commentators such as RichardFlorida have suggested that creativity has anincreasingly significant role to play in thesocial and economic development of ourcities and thatregional economic growth is driven by thelocation choices of creative people—theholders of creative capital—who preferplaces that are diverse, tolerant and opento new ideas (Florida, 2002, p. 223).From this point of view, quality of place hasovertaken quality of life as the factor in deter-mining why creative people live where theylive. The suggestion might therefore be thaticonic projects provide tangible evidence ofthe quality of place. They are, in effect,symbols of a place in which creative peoplecan feel they will belong. This certainlyappears to be the feeling surrounding Liver-pool, recently awarded ‘Capital of Culture2008’ with Egbert Kossak, one of Europe’sleading regeneration experts, commenting thatThe Fourth Grace will do for Liverpoolwhat the Opera House has done forSydney. Liverpool has won praise fromaround the world for preserving its histori-cal buildings. The time is right for a new,iconic building which will represent thefuture (Liverpool, 2004, p. 1).Regardless of the demise of the Fourth Grace,the optimistic tone here is a telling reflectionof how those involved in the productionof iconic cultural developments tend to per-ceive such projects. But it remains unclearhow far the realities of urban regenerationcan match up to the expectations both theArts fraternity and policy-makers have of cul-tural investment on this kind of scale.In recent years, the world’s waterfrontshave provided a particular focus for culture-led regeneration. Marshall (2001, p. 3)describes the waterfront as space “in the citywhich allows expressions of hope for urbanvitality”. He goes on to point out that incities such as London, New York, Vancouver,Sydney and San Francisco waterfronts havehistorically been the staging-points for theimport and export of goods, but that this isno longer the case in our information-satu-rated, service-oriented economiesThese waterfront redevelopment projectsspeak to our future, and to our past. Theyspeak to a past based in industrial pro-duction, to a time of tremendous growthand expansion, to social and economicstructures that no longer exist... .Through historical circumstance, thesesites are immediately adjacent to centersof older cities, and typically are separatedfrom the physical, cultural and physiologi-cal connections that exist in every