Urban Vacation Professionals
In 1761 the playwright Carlo Goldoni, in his Holiday Trilogy on villeggiatura (literally, going to a country village; by extension the Italian expression for prolonged vacationing anywhere) remarked how vacationers "take with them the pomp and tumult of the City", adding that their behavior caused the poisoning of "the pleasures of the shepherds and countrymen, who from the arrogance of their masters learn to despise their own penury."
By symmetry, if we look at the summer frenzy of our metropolises today, it seems clear that local administrations everywhere are trying to provide a peculiar public good to residents and tourists: the pleasure of a vacation where you can appreciate in a city what Goldoni referred to as "the innocent pastime of the country". Take a quick glance at world cities: for years, the most important theater event in New York City has been "Shakespeare in the Park", where international stars play Hamlet or Shylock. With the "Paris plages" initiative, the City of Paris offers holidays on the beach on the banks of the Seine. In Italy, "L'Estate romana" is one of the most felicitous examples of the big summer programs that make European cities lively through art exhibits, film festivals, music concerts, theater playes, and other entertainment events to attract city-dwellers and tourists alike.
So public policy does not go on holiday even during the summer, but what's most relevant is how cities' summer cultural policies are implemented. Summertime events in the city are one of the most fitting examples of what academic literature terms cultural governance, i.e. forms of public-private partnerships to implement policies in culture and the arts.
Defining a calendar of summer events, or just simply using city areas to turn them into places for food and entertainment, requires a public actor that is able to mediate between the various interests of the public and private agents involved, so they can ostensibly act together in the interest of the citizenry.
There are several factors behind the development of the multi-stakeholder approach to cultural policy. Certainly the growing demand for leisure services and activities by residents and tourists has forced city administrations to involve other operators. Also, the increased autonomy of city governments has put them in the condition of directing the whole process to foster collaboration among cultural agents. Lastly, the loosening of individuals' territorial attachment because of globalization has given a new importance to local development policies aimed at improving cities' attractiveness in terms of tourism and quality of life.
However, the key to success of these initiatives is to be found in the decisions taken by city administrators and city managers. It is they who are the protagonists of summer cultural governance. On one hand, you have politicians who must be able to talk to the city and its identity also by creating social capital among the various actors. On the other hand, you have city managers who must be able to build consensus among the practitioners, run efficient decision-making processes, and support the implementation of the objectives set by urban administrations.
So in the summer, the challenge for city officials is to be able to renounce to the ephemeral pomp and cultural superficiality of certain large events, and manage to bring back to the city the pleasures of vacationing in the country. Perhaps with a touch of the light irony that made Goldoni famous as a playwright.