Simmel’s brain
by: Robert Grimm -
June 23rd, 2011
The brains of people living in cities operate differently from those in rural areas, according to a
brain-scanning study. Scientists found that two regions, involved in the regulation of emotion and
anxiety, become overactive in city-dwellers when they are stressed and argue that the differences could
account for the increased rates of mental health problems seen in urban areas.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jun/22/city-living-afffects-brain
All over Europe, cities are faced with the challenge of using cultural resources to re-position their
city in an increasingly culturally and economically diversified European space. Related to this is a
clear recognition of the growing importance of cultural resources for economic and community
development. This produces new opportunities and challenges for local cultural planning and management.
In order to fully exploit the innovative and supportive role of culture in European urban development,
it will be necessary to develop a new socially and culturally sensitive professionalism, able to cross
the boundaries between the arts, design, urban and spatial planning, public policy and the market,
artistic creativity and cultural management.
The MA in European Urban Cultures offers a specialist programme aimed at graduate students from Europe
and elsewhere with undergraduate degrees in subject areas such as the social sciences; cultural and
leisure studies; art, design and architecture; urban theory and planning; cultural marketing and
management. The course is also targeted at professionals and administrators eager for the latest
experiences, ideas and insights in urban cultural policy.
