The Prospects for Progressive Culture-Led Urban Regeneration in Latin America: Cases from Mexico City and Buenos Aires MIGUEL KANAI and ILIANA ORTEGA-ALCÁZAR Abstract This article addresses the issue of culture-led urban regeneration from a Latin American perspective. It argues that, despite limited government intervention, the democratization processes that many cities have undergone have enhanced the potential of urban cultural policy as an instrument to address economic, social and physical decay. Grounded on the cases of Mexico City and Buenos Aires, the article shows how highly contingent and contradictory processes of economic globalization, political democratization and institutional neoliberalization have led to much variation in urban policy. In this context, we argue that urban cultural policy is highly dependent on the intricacies of local configurations of power and the negotiation of policy agendas. As a third level of analysis, the article looks at one paradigmatic project in each city. These experiences reveal that cultural initiatives offer the potential to generate socially inclusive forms of economic and territorial development at both the city and neighborhood scales. Yet we also point out that existing fiscal and political constraints limit the extent to which they can be replicated and articulated into a wider policy agenda. The article ends with a discussion of the comparative findings and a research agenda to examine governmental and non-governmental culture-led urban regeneration initiatives. Introduction A growing number of researchers and policy-makers believe that culture provides effective methods to strengthen local economies, upgrade built environments and improve social conditions in cities (Bassett et al., 2005: 153). This culture-led approach to urban regeneration reflects what some call the ‘new conventional wisdom’ in urban policy (Buck and Gordon, 2005): it conceives culture as an instrument for local governments to reconcile the goal of economic growth with social justice and progressive public policies (Miles and Paddison, 2005: 833). 1 Arguments in favor of Initial field research in Buenos Aires was made possible by a FURS grant. Research in Mexico City was conducted as part of the Urban Age project. The authors wish to acknowledge Garrett Jones, Fran Tonkiss and the three IJURR reviewers whose comments helped us improve this article greatly. The usual disclaimers apply. 1 The materialist and instrumental definition of culture that predominates in the literature broadly approximates the concept to the ideas and practices, sites and artifacts of the new creative, symbolic or high-value content economy. Cultural industries are understood as those economic sectors linked to so-defined cultural products and services, and in the same way cultural policy concerns the public regulation of cultural production, distribution and consumption (see e.g. United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 2004: 32). These are also the definitions adopted in this article. Volume 33.2 June 2009 483–501 International Journal of Urban and Regional Research DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2009.00865.x © 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2009 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published by Blackwell Publishing. 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA