Events and place experience: Improvisation with city rhythms and psychogeography.

Events have been increasingly used in place-making, where a lived space of a city is linked to a conceived and imaginative space through new meanings, symbols, identity, narrative and storytelling. Place-making requires the development and delivery of a unique and authentic experience. A place experience reflects people’s interaction with the physical, virtual and social environment of cities. Place experiencing stimulates imagery processing, 38 gives meaning and generates emotions. A symbiosis of events, cityscapes, images, and attached meanings generates an attractive aura of eventfulness which transforms city daily rhythms. Although different aspects of place experience through events have been discussed in the literature, the research on the multifaceted dimensions of such experience remains limited. The proposed research project aims at filling this gap by exploring the nature of lived experiences of an event place. Specifically, the study will investigate how a host city is being experienced during the course of city-scale events by different target groups, including local residents, event attendees and city visitors. A mixed method phenomenological approach is chosen as an appropriate research design. The research will combine phenomenology with quantitative surveys to cross-validate findings. The preliminary quantitative findings will review effects of events on a lived place experience and will be used to inform the phenomenological part where the nature of place experience will be explored in depth. Buxton, a spa town in Derbyshire, UK, is chosen as a location for data collection. The town is famous for its historic architecture, beautiful countryside and several large-scale cultural and music festivals. A mixed method phenomenological perspective of this research can provide richer insights into the nature of one’s own experience of a host city, as well as synthesise personal experiences with collective meanings about the place. The results of the research will have several contributions. Theoretically, the research will contribute to the place-making theory in tourism and events by providing a deeper understanding of place and event experience dimensions. Methodologically, the research will demonstrate the potential and appropriateness of phenomenology in event studies. Practically, the results of the research may be useful in planning of city event and tourism projects in order to design and deliver unique and authentic place experiences and synergise multiple meanings co-created by different actors.

Events have been increasingly used in place-making, where a lived space of a city is linked
to a conceived and imaginative space through new meanings, symbols, identity, narrative
and storytelling. Place-making requires the development and delivery of a unique and
authentic experience. A place experience reflects people’s interaction with the physical,
virtual and social environment of cities. Place experiencing stimulates imagery processing,
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gives meaning and generates emotions. A symbiosis of events, cityscapes, images, and
attached meanings generates an attractive aura of eventfulness which transforms city daily
rhythms. Although different aspects of place experience through events have been discussed
in the literature, the research on the multifaceted dimensions of such experience remains
limited. The proposed research project aims at filling this gap by exploring the nature of lived
experiences of an event place. Specifically, the study will investigate how a host city is being
experienced during the course of city-scale events by different target groups, including local
residents, event attendees and city visitors. A mixed method phenomenological approach is
chosen as an appropriate research design. The research will combine phenomenology with
quantitative surveys to cross-validate findings. The preliminary quantitative findings will
review effects of events on a lived place experience and will be used to inform the
phenomenological part where the nature of place experience will be explored in depth.
Buxton, a spa town in Derbyshire, UK, is chosen as a location for data collection. The town is
famous for its historic architecture, beautiful countryside and several large-scale cultural and
music festivals. A mixed method phenomenological perspective of this research can provide
richer insights into the nature of one’s own experience of a host city, as well as synthesise
personal experiences with collective meanings about the place. The results of the research
will have several contributions. Theoretically, the research will contribute to the place-making
theory in tourism and events by providing a deeper understanding of place and event
experience dimensions. Methodologically, the research will demonstrate the potential and
appropriateness of phenomenology in event studies. Practically, the results of the research
may be useful in planning of city event and tourism projects in order to design and deliver
unique and authentic place experiences and synergise multiple meanings co-created by
different actors.