IN-PERSON Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Cities are increasingly judged by how people experience everyday public space, yet dominant models of urban activation remain anchored to retail and commercial consumption. This paper argues that Urban Activators, particularly artist-led spaces and creative practices, offer alternative, human-centred pathways to making cities more livable, inclusive, and socially resilient. Drawing on my PhD research, Artist-led Spatial Production in the City: East Street Arts as Urban Activator, the paper examines how artist-led spaces reshape social interaction, temporal rhythms, and perceptions of safety and belonging. Through qualitative case studies of studios, pop-ups, residencies, and participatory interventions, the research analyses spatial tactics, governance arrangements, and partnership models that enable creative activity to operate as civic infrastructure rather than solely cultural programming. It demonstrates how these initiatives animate overlooked sites, cultivate local identity, and support diverse communities without relying on transactional footfall or market-led regeneration narratives. Situating these findings within wider debates on livable cities, social sustainability, and contemporary urban design, the paper proposes an expanded framework for place activation that privileges process, stewardship, and co-creation. It argues that embedding artistic agency within regeneration strategies can broaden the repertoire of tools available to planners, designers, and local authorities seeking to deliver long-term urban quality under conditions of economic uncertainty. By reframing artists as Urban Activators rather than temporary placeholders, the paper contributes a transferable methodology for evaluating non-commercial activation and its capacity to support inclusive growth. Ultimately, it suggests that livability is strengthened when cities invest in cultural infrastructures that enable everyday encounter, experimentation, and collective authorship of place.