Addressing dereliction and devaluation in urban tourism: the case of Cork, Ireland

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to focus on increasingly entrepreneurial approaches to urban governance in the country’s second city Cork, where neoliberal strategy has driven uneven spatial development. Design/methodology/approach This paper combines insights from literature review with new knowledge derived from interviews with key informants in the city. Findings Post-colonial themes provoke a consideration of how uneven power dynamics stifle social innovation in the built environment. Research limitations/implications Assembled narratives expose opaque aspects of governance, ownership and participation, presenting opportunities for rethinking urban vacancy through placemaking. Practical implications These draw on nuanced models for tourism as a platform for a broader discourse on rights to the city. Social implications A century after independence, Ireland is recast as a leading small European economy, away from historical framings of a rural economic backwater of the British Empire. Originality/value The model of success is based on a basket of targeted investment policies and somewhat dubious indicators for growth.