The ‘civilising’ effect of a ‘balanced’ night-time economy for ‘better people’: class and the cosmopolitan limit in the consumption and regulation of alcohol in Bournemouth

Abstract

The British night-time economy today has been characterised by academics across various disciplines as the result of neoliberal attempts to regenerate the evening economy 'on the cheap', leading to the dominance of 'mainstream nightlife' at the expense of subcultural traditional workingclass alternatives. One preferable alternative offered is the ideal of a 'diverse' and 'inclusive' 'creative city', with a greater focus on 'culture'. This article shows how such ideas have been taken up in the planning and regulation of the night-time economy in Bournemouth. Despite the current emphasis on the value of making the Bournemouth night-time economy 'more diverse', offering more 'balance' than the current vista, policymakers, like drinkers, are aware of the considerable distinctions within the night-time economy. The emphasis on diversity as a policy objective can be understood rather as an attempt to encourage a particular drinking style. In this context, a 'balanced' night-time economy refers more to the overall atmosphere than the variety of consumer choice. The ideal drinking style is seen as characteristic of a wealthier group of customers, who will exert a 'civilising' influence on the town, as wealth is associated with broader cultural attributes of these 'better people'. It is therefore argued that local alcohol policy can be seen as neoliberal in the sense of actively creating a particular form of market, rather than letting a free market develop and determine outcomes. The intersection of cultural, economic and social factors suggests that the local approach can be understood as both reflective and constitutive of class. (250 words) KeywordsGentrification, licensing, local government, neoliberalism, planning Main text word count: 5,988 (including notes and references)

‘Did you ever hear of police being called to a beer festival?’ Discourses of merriment, moderation and ‘civilized’ drinking amongst real ale enthusiasts

“…Paralleling Monaghan’s (2014: 698) use of Elias to analyse anti-obesity health intervention policy, the drunken or obese body is posited as ‘the antithesis of the self-restrained, tightly regulated and disciplined body’ of the self-regulating civilized subject. Such discourses are evidently informed in numerous ways by ideas of gender, age and maturity, and social class (Haydock, 2014a, 2014b) and, as such, mean that much alcohol and public order related policy might be understood as a ‘civilizing offensive’ which targets particular drinkers who are constructed as problematic while neglecting others (Mitzman, 1987; Rohloff, 2013).…”

“…Thus, the violent and unruly urban working-class male and the 'vulgar' and 'promiscuous' working-class female (Brown and Gregg, 2012) have long been stock figures in debates about problematic drinking. More recently, Haydock (2014b) has drawn on Bourdieu (1984) to explain how recent policy discourses have relied heavily on class-based notions of taste and respectability in in locating some drinkers as irresponsible and therefore appropriate target for moral censure and regulatory intervention.…”

“…Indeed, 'civilized' drinking has become part of a quest amongst planning officials for a diverse and balanced urban economy (Latham, 2003;Hollands and Chatterton, 2010;Haydock, 2014aHaydock, , 2014b. Problematically, then, media and government reports tend to reduce drinkers 'to either civilised "social drinkers" or "binge drinking urban savages''' (Eldridge and Roberts, 2008: 366).…”

“…A further trend in both media and policy discourse is the ready use of ‘spatial metaphors’ where the distinctly ‘British disease’ of antisocial binge drinking is juxtaposed to the ‘civilized’ social drinking of ‘continental’, ‘Mediterranean’ or ‘European’ drinking cultures (Tierney, 2006; Järvinen and Room, 2007; Jayne et al , 2008). Indeed, ‘civilized’ drinking has become part of a quest amongst planning officials for a diverse and balanced urban economy (Latham, 2003; Hollands and Chatterton, 2010; Haydock, 2014a, 2014b). Problematically, then, media and government reports tend to reduce drinkers ‘to either civilised “social drinkers” or “binge drinking urban savages’’’ (Eldridge and Roberts, 2008: 366).…”

Evaluation of the Implementation of Tourism Policy

“…Observation of previous research on tourism policy leads to the conclusion that economic aspect of the sector has attracted the most research attention. Some researchers who have conducted studies on the economic development of tourism include (Brida & Risso, 2010;Hall, 2009;Haydock, 2014;Yang & Chen, 2009), while other researchers carried out studies on the relationship between tourism economic development and tourism products and services, in this case tourist attractions (Getz & Page, 2005;O'Sullivana, Pickernella, & Senyardb, 2009;Preuss, 2009;Robertson, Rogers, & Leask, 2009). Nonetheless, not all previous research on tourism policy focused on tourism economic policy.…”