Anticipating the “Bilbao effect”: Transformations of the city of Arles before the opening of the Luma Foundation
Published in Social Sciences, Earth & Environment, and Statistics
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Anticipating the “Bilbao effect”: Transformations of the city of Arles before the opening of the Luma Foundation (Cities, 2018) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.012
By analyzing data from the 2006/07 and 2013 French census as well as data extracted from the Yellow Pages, this paper seeks to understand how the French city of Arles is preparing for the arrival of Frank O. Gehry’s Luma Foundation landmark building in 2019, and how a big-scale construction site, still devoid of its future aesthetics and cultural function, impacts the urban core. To do this, we consider three hypotheses: (1) The Rise of New Audiences: a landmark building attracts the new populations to the pre-existing urban cultural core, (2) Residential Pattern: a landmark building induces social transformation of surrounding neighborhoods, (3) Mobility: a landmark building induces the arrival of the “most talented and educated” people. After testing these hypotheses with cartographical and statistical methods, our findings demonstrate strong support for Mobility, and mixed support for The Rise of New Audiences and Residential Pattern. Even though the causal links between the landmark building and new urban dynamics are difficult to prove, our results reveal that Arles is “customizing” itself to the forthcoming cultural and aesthetic dimensions of the Luma Foundation.
🟣 I am a Russian-French scholar and research leader with over a decade of international experience across public, academic, and multilateral settings. I am passionate about bringing bold ideas to life and always open to connecting and exchanging ideas on visionary projects — whether related to culture or beyond.
🇦🇪 Current Role
Since 2019, I have served as Head of the Research and Analysis Unit at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, leading CultureSTATS-AD, the MENA region’s pioneering culture research program.
Key achievements:
• Published 20+ research reports supporting Abu Dhabi’s culture sector decision-making — recognized by the UAE National Library as part of the country's intellectual heritage (2025)
• Authored academic articles in Quality and Quantity (2021) and Nature (2024), ranked among the top 10% (94th percentile) of research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric
• Launched the biennial Abu Dhabi Culture Population Survey
• Developed the region’s first Register of Cultural Organizations and Professionals
• Established baselines for Abu Dhabi’s international cultural rankings
• Collaborated with UNESCO, IFACCA, WCCF, ENCATC, OECD, and the Mori Memorial Foundation on a range of initiatives
• Designed the CultureSTATS-AD concept from the ground up; oversaw HR, Finance, and Procurement processes
💼 Previous Roles
• Research Fellow, National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France (2015)
• Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Avignon, France (2014)
• Lecturer, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), France (2013)
• Visiting Researcher in Italy, Sweden, and Poland
✍️ Contributions and editorial engagements
• Contributor: World Economic Forum, Springer Nature Research Communities, ET Edge Insights (India)
• Reviewer: Quality and Quantity: International Journal of Methodology (Q1); Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Q1)
📚 Education
• PhD in Sociology, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris, 2014
• Specialist in Public International Law, Moscow State University, 2009
🌍 Affiliations
• Member, Academic Advisory Board, IAFOR (Japan)
• Visiting Lecturer & Associate Researcher, IIM Rohtak (India)
• Fellow, Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
