Feeling Towns: the role of place and identity in governance and local policy

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The emphasis on pride and place in cultural policy initiatives has become commonplace - it is, for example, core to the 2021 Levelling Up Prospectus. Yet the concept, experience, and mechanics of civic pride and place attachment often remain undefined and unexamined in policy documents, practice and evaluations. Likewise, its socio-political meanings and values are at best contested and at worst unexplored or even ignored. This project will use our existing research on towns, pride and metrics to work with lead partners and a broad community of practice to creatively and collectively explore methods and metrics of civic pride and place attachment monitoring, evaluating and reporting. We understand this to be an opportunity to share the value and range of qualitative methods and metrics which can complement the more dominant econometric approaches towards culture, regeneration and local economies.The project brings academic research into conversation with national cultural bodies and local authorities to exchange knowledge regarding the correlation between place attachment (understood as the emotional bond between people and place) and the health of local cultural ecologies. The collaboration will speak directly to the need, established with our partners, for a set of co-produced evaluative metrics for understanding pride and place.