Public Art for a Better Aura in Urban Spaces

Interest in Public art has been increasingly rising in the past few decades, with special attention to its contribution to urban regeneration. A wide range of scholars claim that public art not only contributes to the aesthetic of urban spaces, but also to develop a sense of place, tackle social exclusion, and promote community resilience. Drawing on case studies in both the global North and South, this chapter looks at how public art can be used as a tool of regeneration of urban spaces. It will explore how public art can improve the streets of Algiers and Birmingham. With Birmingham city council announcing huge budget cuts to arts and culture by 60% in 2024 and 100% in 2025, it is worth investigating and highlighting how public art was used to creatively improve the inherited industrial urban spaces of the second largest city in the United Kingdom. Equally, the chapter will examine public art as being a product of community engagement and resilience. The chapter will rely on case study research as a method of investigation combined with participant observations; to study how public art helps regenerate urban spaces and increase their social use. The chapter will first synthesize the literature on public urban art, its societal impacts and contributions to urban regeneration. After that, the chapter will present reflection on observations and site visits conducted in both Algiers and Birmingham to understand how public art was used to regenerate the area.