Cities in the experience economy context and the role of citizens. The need for citizen’s participation in Bilbao

Abstract

The reproduction of successful culture-led strategies to recover or improve urban economies has caused such lack of singularity that in order to be competitive cities need to adopt the management model proposed by the new experience economy, staging and offering unique experiences in order to attract visitors. The urban recovery process developed in Bilbao during the last decades is analyzed and the principal results of the empirical study carried out in the city during 2011, when a sample of dwellers was selected to discover the attitude and feelings of the residents about the new morphology of the urban space, the design and management of the city, are presented. Finally, the power the citizens of Bilbao have to design and plan the city they need, and the channels they have to participate are analyzed.