| 摘要: |
| 现代以来，城市文化概念的复杂性
要求运用动态、联系视角来认识文化融入城
市发展的理论演化。运用文献研究与融贯研
究方法，以时间为线索，选取国际典型理论
及政策实践，以长时段识别和宏观展现文化
发挥的媒化作用及其嬗变规律。研究表明：
快速城镇化阶段的美化运动、公共艺术以及
现代主义美学改造等推动了现代城市美化的
勃兴；文化规划、文化绘图、文化区等促进
了城市发展对文化的再发现；创意城市、创
意阶层、创意场所营造等深化了现代城市整
体发展策略。在厘清文化概念多重面向基础
上，明晰城市文化在城市发展中“美化、文
化、造化”的媒化嬗变规律及其机制。本研
究为持续完善系统整合性政策提供支撑，助
推我国城市进一步成为中国式现代化建设的
活力源泉。 |
| 关键词: 文化艺术 现代城市 以美为媒 发展 理论嬗变 |
| DOI：10.13791/j.cnki.hsfwest.20240731002 |
| 分类号: |
| 基金项目:重庆市教委科学技术研究计划项目（KJQN202201004）；重庆市教委人文社会科学研究项目（23SKGH226） |
|
| The evolution of “beauty as a catalyst” in modern urban development theory |
|
XUE Wei,LI Heping
|
| Abstract: |
| The complexity of the concept of urban culture since the advent of modernity necessitates a
dynamic and relational perspective for understanding its evolving role in urban development theory.
This study investigates the historical transformation of culture’s mediating function—or the role of
“beauty” as a catalyst—in shaping modern urban development across different periods. Employing
literature review and integrative analysis, the research traces representative theories and policy
practices internationally, using time as a narrative thread to construct a long-term, macro-level view of
cultural influence in urban planning and transformation. 1) The study identifies three main phases in
the evolution of culture’s mediating role. Firstly, the emergence of urban beautification in the context
of rapid urbanization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the City Beautiful
Movement, the institutionalization of public art, and modernist aesthetic interventions. These efforts
treated beauty as both a governance strategy and a means of social order. Secondly, from the 1980s
onward, cultural planning tools such as Cultural Mapping and the designation of Cultural Districts
marked a shift toward recognizing and utilizing cultural assets as endogenous drivers of economic
revitalization and urban identity. Thirdly, the rise of creative economy discourse—from the Creative
City paradigm to Creative Class theory and Creative Placemaking—positioned creativity as an
integral force in shaping economic competitiveness, spatial production, and community life in cities.
2) The research further conceptualizes urban culture as composed of four interrelated dimensions:
beauty, art, culture (as way of life), and creativity. These facets interact as part of a broader cultural
mechanism that responds to economic cycles, technological transformations, and social change.
Beauty is identified as an aesthetic objective pursued across different stages of urban growth; art
serves as a representational vehicle of collective identity; creativity emerges as a dynamic force that
produces cultural innovation and value; and culture, in its anthropological sense, anchors tradition and
continuity while offering resources for regeneration. Together, these dimensions form a conceptual
prism through which the mediating power of culture can be analyzed over time. 3) This prism model
is aligned with long-wave theories of economic development, particularly the Schumpeterian notion
of techno-economic cycles. The phases of cultural intervention in urban development—beautification,
cultural rediscovery, and creative production—coincide with major waves of technological and
economic transformation. For instance, urban beautification paralleled the electrification era of the
early 20th century; cultural policy innovation matched the emergence of post-industrial society and
service economies; and creative strategies have risen alongside the digital revolution and knowledgebased
economies since the 1990s. These patterns suggest that cultural mediation is not merely
decorative or symbolic but plays a strategic role in urban resilience and adaptation across economic
phases. 4) Furthermore, the study highlights how shifts in cultural discourse—from elite high art to
everyday aesthetics, community-based art, and participatory culture—have expanded the
inclusiveness and applicability of cultural strategies in urban governance. The concept of culture has
evolved from being an external add-on to becoming an intrinsic component of urban policy logic.
These developments underscore the necessity of understanding culture not just as a static repository of
heritage, but as a dynamic system of meanings and practices that can be mobilized to address spatial,
social, and economic challenges. In conclusion, this research reveals that the integration of cultural
elements—through the evolving functions of beautification, culturalization, and creation—constitutesa coherent and cumulative trajectory in modern urban development theory. By clarifying the mechanisms and dimensions of culture’s mediating role, the study
provides a conceptual framework for advancing integrated urban policy and planning. In the context of China’s contemporary urban transformation, this
framework offers valuable insight into how cultural vitality can be mobilized as a strategic resource in support of Chinese modernization. |
| Key words: culture and arts beauty as a catalyst modern cities development theoretical evolution |
