Creating a sense of place is a key theme of modern environmental design. Jonathan Ives* looks at how the making of places has evolved into the concept of placemaking and the role of art in the process.

You're a New Yorker. You have a bit of money and a passion for sculptural art. You would like to share your aesthetic interests with your fellow citizens, perhaps helping to make the place a little more attractive along the way, by presenting the city with a work of art for public display.

As your neighbours might say, good luck with that. The City of New York has been here before and it has some pretty stringent guidelines that you may want to have a look at. Firstly, the city has run out of room. Secondly, it is quite picky about what it will accept. And thirdly, you'll have to pay to look after it.

This is not to say that the New York City (NYC) authorities do not appreciate art. Since 1982 the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs has been responsible for the Percent for Arts programme, a scheme enacted by Local Law 65 that takes one percent of the city's construction budget and applies it to art and design. The legislation acknowledges that 'public art serves as an expression of the community as well as a landmark' and the aim of the programme is to make art accessible and visible. To date over two hundred projects have been completed, $26 million has been spent on commissions and dozens of projects are currently in the pipeline.

The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation guidelines for donating works of art to parks suggest that the city understands that public art and the sense of place it creates are too important to take lightly. The review process involves representatives of the parks department and the Art Commission of New York City, a body established in 1898 to oversee the city's investment in and understanding of all things artistic. The criteria against which donations are assessed include whether the work is appropriate historically and thematically, whether it is compatible with its proposed landscape and the aesthetic consideration, requiring 'evidence of the artist's mastery of the medium'.

The issue of maintenance is no small matter and is not just a foible of the City of New York. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation estimates that the upkeep of a typical bronze statue will cost between $1,000 and $2,000 a year, and art works are only accepted with the donor or sponsor agreeing provision of perpetual care. In the UK landscape architects and designers are also keenly aware that maintenance matters if the urban environment is to remain interesting, vibrant and exciting.

Paul Taylor, Director of Landscape Architecture with British architectural design practice BDP Manchester, explains that while he is keen to involve artists with design projects wherever possible, the practicalities of working in the public realm have to be understood.

'Maintenance is a big issue,' he says. 'Permanent art for an external environment has to be durable and there is nothing worse than art that is not maintained. It may be the tedious side of it but you have to consider maintenance in terms of health and safety issues, the disability discrimination act, appropriate lighting, things like that.'

Despite these challenges, Paul has noticed that an increasing number of commissioning bodies are understanding the relationship of art to public spaces. 'Most towns and cities are realising that the public realm is a place that people want to interact with again after the doldrums of the 1970s,' he continues. 'There has been a massive investment in the public realm and art really helps with placemaking.'

While London may not have developed artistic guidelines quite as clear and prescriptive as those of New York, the Mayor of London's culture strategy acknowledges the importance of art to the public realm and the need to invest in what is increasingly understood as 'placemaking'. The strategy document, 'London: Cultural Capital', notes: 'Public places provide opportunities for cultural expression, to communicate history or aspiration, and to communicate or inspire… Even small and seemingly insignificant places have the potential to come alive through arts interventions.' Like New York, London now has few places available for new public monuments but the work of contemporary artists should always have a place in modern world cities. 'London', the Mayor suggests, 'has not had the vision that other modern cities . . . have shown in the last thirty years by commissioning the major artists of the time.'

The publication of London's cultural strategy document sought to address this situation and others have been keen to consider the role of art and culture in the development of cities that work for visitors and residents alike. Asked by the Solace Foundation to comment on what placemaking involves, Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre in London, argues that the achievement of the Festival of Britain in 1951 was the  establishment of a democratic right to use public space for the enjoyment of culture and artistic expression of all kinds. This right, she suggests, can be seen in the role of art and culture in modern placemaking.

'Many regeneration schemes now have culture as a focal point and serve as good illustrations that regeneration is not just a question of buildings and economics,' she says. 'Regeneration is also about a sense of spirit, the generation of the new voices, new ideas, energy and creative expression. These are the things that create sustainable communities and they are also the things that create interesting places.'

Derrick Anderson, Chief Executive of Lambeth Borough Council, suggests a simple test when trying to assess the importance of art on the public realm. 'Think of your areas without your cultural icons and ask yourself the question: How strong a sense of place would you and your citizens be able to recognise in their absence?' Or, as a senior local government officer who had responsibility for his city's leisure and cultural provision once put it rather more bluntly: 'If you took away everything that my department is responsible for, this city would be a right dump.'

Mention this to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation; they may yet find you a place for your sculpture. Good luck with that.

*Jonathan Ives is a freelance journalist.

References:

Guidelines for Donating Works of Art to the City of New York, published by the New York City Department for Parks and Recreation, September 1999

London: Cultural Capital - Realising the potential of a world class city, The Mayor's Culture Strategy, published by the Greater London Authority, April 2004

Inspiring our ambitions through sport, art, culture and place, edited by Derrick Anderson, published by the Solace Foundation Imprint, May 2007