ABSTRACT
Analysis of real estate development should not limit its considerations to the direct and indirect effects associated with physical or functional spatial development but rather encompass also catalytic effects in addition to the spatial distribution of benefits and costs. The development of public cultural facilities is increasingly legitimized as primarily flagship architectural projects, which are capable of drawing a large number of visitors not just to the facility in question but also to the city at large. Beyond city beautification and urban renewal, such public investments in the development of physical space aim at re-positioning cities on regional and international economic circuits. This chapter argues that a multi-scalar approach is needed to understand the range of impacts associated with such projects. In the context of increasing competition between cities and the struggle of particularly small- to medium-sized cities to remain on the radar of competitive places, cities will increasingly be pressured to resort to spectacular measures to attract and retain attention to their localities. This will include architectural measures and dramatic changes to the physical spatial environment. Huge financial investments are associated with such risky endeavors, whose impacts are speculative. If we become more knowledgeable about how flagship architectural projects “work” and what drives their impacts, we can use increasingly scarce public financial resources more effectively. Adopting a multi-scalar analytic approach assists in identifying a wider net of potential winners and losers in the game of urban transformation.
