City Museums and City Development

by Ian Jones, Robert R. Macdonald, Darryl McIntyre, Marie Louise Bourbeau, Caroline Butler-Bowden

Overview

Traditionally, city museums have been keepers of city history. Many have been exercises in nostalgia, reflecting city pride. However, a new generation of museums focuses increasingly on the city's present and future as well as its past, and on the city in all of its diversity, challenges, and possibilities. Above all, these museums are gateways to understanding the city—our greatest and most complex creation and the place where half the world's population now lives. In this book, experts in the field explore this 'new' city museum and the challenge of contributing positively to city development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759111813
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	03/16/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ian Jones is the Secretary of CAMOC (Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities), one of the international committees forming part of the International Council of Museums. Robert R. Macdonald is director emeritus, Museum of the City of New York, where he previously served as CEO for 17 years. Darryl McIntyre has been group director for public programs at the Museum of London since November 2003.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

1 Cities and Museums about Them Ian Jones 1

2 City Museums and the Geopolitics of Globalization Georges Prévélakis 16

3 Museums of Cities and the Future of Cities Chet Orloff 27

4 "The Novelties of the Town": Museums, Cities, arid Historical Representation Eric Sandweiss 40

5 The Prospect of a City Museum Jack Lohman 60

6 Thinking the Present Historically at the Museum of Sydney Caroline Butler-Bowdon Susan Hunt 75

7 A City Museum for Stuttgart: Some Issues in Planning a Museum for the Twenty-First Century Anja Dauschek 90

8 Taipei City Museum in the Making Chi-jung Chu Szu-yun Chang 99

9 Museums and Urban Renewal in Towns Max Hebditch 114

10 The Development of the City of Kazan: The Museum Aspect Gulchachak Rakhimzyanovna Nazipova 129

11 Defining a Research Agenda for City Museums in a Peripheralizing World Geoffrey Edwards Marie Louise Bourbeau 136

12 From Urban Blocks to City Blogs: Defining Attributes for the City Museum of Today Marlen Mouliou 155

Index 181

About the Contributors 185

What People are Saying About This

Sal Cilella

This book brings together the latest thinking and scholarship on a topic that is critical to the future of all museums. City museums, more than any other topic specific cultural institutions, not only carry the seeds of memory but bear the responsibility of reflecting the increasingly diverse populations they serve. These museums, through their programs, bring relevance to their various publics, serve as places of discussion and civil discourse, and ultimately inform and enlighten their citizens.

Joseph Rykwert

Cities need museums as people need memories: not as a repository of their past, but as a token of their identity and a guide to the future. Here is a unique survey of city museums from five continents to stimulate discussion about such museums' varied functions – from archive to development workshop.

Editorial Reviews

This book brings together the latest thinking and scholarship on a topic that is critical to the future of all museums. City museums, more than any other topic specific cultural institutions, not only carry the seeds of memory but bear the responsibility of reflecting the increasingly diverse populations they serve. These museums, through their programs, bring relevance to their various publics, serve as places of discussion and civil discourse, and ultimately inform and enlighten their citizens.

Sal Cilella

A far more compelling book than others of its kind.

Museums Journal

Cities need museums as people need memories: not as a repository of their past, but as a token of their identity and a guide to the future. Here is a unique survey of city museums from five continents to stimulate discussion about such museums' varied functions – from archive to development workshop.

Joseph Rykwert

This book brings together the latest thinking and scholarship on a topic that is critical to the future of all museums. City museums, more than any other topic specific cultural institutions, not only carry the seeds of memory but bear the responsibility of reflecting the increasingly diverse populations they serve. These museums, through their programs, bring relevance to their various publics, serve as places of discussion and civil discourse, and ultimately inform and enlighten their citizens.--Sal Cilella, Director, Atlanta History Center

Cities need museums as people need memories: not as a repository of their past, but as a token of their identity and a guide to the future. Here is a unique survey of city museums from five continents to stimulate discussion about such museums' varied functions - from archive to development workshop.--Joseph Rykwert, University of Pennsylvania; author of The Seduction of Place: The City in the Twenty-First Century

A far more compelling book than others of its kind.--Museums Journal, February 2009

From the Publisher

Books that arise from conferences are often uneven and poorly structured butCity Museums and City Development is an exception.

ReCollections

The contents should both inspire and challenge anyone working in a history museum, especially one in an urban setting.

AASLH History News

A far more compelling book than others of its kind.

February 2009 Museums Journal

Books that arise from conferences are often uneven and poorly structured butCity Museums and City Development is an exception.

Recollections